\ 


THE! 

// 


POPULAR  CYCLOPEDIA 


OF 


USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 


A  COMPLETE  LIBRARY   OF 

USEFUL  INFORMATION  FOR  THE  MASSES, 

KMBRACED    IN    THE    SUBJECTS    OF 

HISTORY,    BIOGRAPHY,    NATURAL    HISTORY,     TRAVELS, 
MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS,  MANUFACTURES,    VEG- 
ETATION, INVENTION  AND  DISCOVERY,  MIN- 
ING, THE  SEA,  FAMILIAR  SCIENCE,  THE 
LAW,  STATISTICS,  Etc.,  Etc. 


WITH  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  SEVENTY-THREE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NEW  YORK  : 

F.  M.  LUPTON,  PUBLISHER, 
No.  63  MURRAY  STREET. 

1888. 


COPYRIGHT  BY 
M.     LUPTON, 

i«88. 


PREFACE. 


A  BICH  store  of  knowledge  may  bo  ohtaiuccl  from  books — in  fact  therein 
may  be  found  ali,  or  nearly  all,  that  mankind  has  yet  discovered;  but  there 
are  two  entirely  opposite  methods  of  giving  knowledge  to  the  world.  The 
first  is  that  which  enters  into  extensive  detail,  and  repels  and  confuses  the 
average  reader  with  scientific  phraseology  and  verbose  description.  The 
second  is  that  which  seeks,  by  simplicity  and  conciseness,  to  make  knowl- 
edge attractive,  entertaining  and  amusing  its  readers  while  it  instructs  and 
benefits  them.  The  latter  is  the  method  adopted  in  the  present  volume. 

The  object  is  to  present  for  family  reading  a  book  which  will  interest  and 
entertain  the  most  careless  reader  and  at  the  same  time  fill  his  mind  with 
knowledge  of  the  most  useful  character — a  book  which  may  be  taken  up  at 
random,  as  in  idle  moments,  and  read  with  interest  and  pront  by  all  classes 
and  conditions  of  mankind.  Few  men  or  women  are  so  well  informed  that 
they  will  not  learn  much  that  is  of  real  interest  and  value  to  them  from  this 
book.  Herein  is  information  for  the  curious,  knowledge  and  facts  for  those 
who  seek  them,  self  education  for  old  and  young. 

The  material  of  a  dozen  ordinary  volumes  has  been  carefully  epitomized 
and  combined  in  one,  yet,  unlike  other  Cyclopaedias  sold  at  low  prices, 
which  are  practically  nothing  more  than  defining  dictionaries,  it  undertakes 
to  treat  upon  only  such  a  number  of  topics  as  can  be  treated  satisfactorily 
and  well.  First,  we  have  the  department  of  "  Biography,"  containing 
sketches  of  the  lives  of  half-a-hundred  of  the  most  prominent  men  who 
have  figured  in  the  history  of  this  country  and  Europe  for  a  century  or  more 
past,  each  biography  being  accompanied  by  a  portrait.  In  the  department 
of  "History"  are  given  graphic  descriptions  of  several  of  the  most  impor- 
tant historical  occurrences  of  the  present  and  former  times.  Under  "  Nat- 
ural History  "  will  be  found  exceedingly  interesting  descriptions  of  animals, 
birds,  reptiles,  fishes  and  insects,  nearly  all  of  which  are  accompanied  by 
handsome  illustrations.  In  the  department  of  "  Travels,  Manners  and 
Customs,  Etc.,"  are  given  descriptions  of  the  life  of  people  of  many  coun- 
tries and  climes,  their  peculiar  rites,  forms  and  ceremonies.  Under  "  The 
World  Illustrated  "  are  described  some  of  the  most  wonderful  works  both 
of  the  Creator  and  of  man.  "  Useful  Arts  and  Manufactures  "  describes 
'arious  industrial  processes,  and  will  be  found  exceedingly  interesting  and 
profitable  reading.  Under  "Trees,  Plants,  Fruits,  Etc.,"  are  given  de- 
scriptions of  the  vegetable  productions  of  foreign  countries,  acquainting  the 
reader  with  many  interesting  and  useful  facts  regarding  these  things. 
"Great  Inventions"  describes  the  history  of  some  of  the  most  important 
mechanical  discoveries  of  mankind,  and  "  Mining  "  relates  to  the  produc- 
tion of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  earth.  "  Wonders  of  the  Sea  "  treats  ol 
the  wonderful  and  beautiful  things  found  upon  the  floor  of  the  ocean. 
"Familiar  Science  "  describes  the  earth  and  other  members  of  the  solar 
eystem,  likewise  the  various  agents,  forces,  etc.,  in  nature.  "  Law  for  the 
"  will  be  fomja  of  great  benefit  to  men  an.d  worqen  in  the  practical 


iv  PREFACE. 

relations  of  life,  while  the  department  of  "  Statistical  and  Miscellaneous  " 
is  a  repository  of  useful  and  interesting  facts  and  figures.  The  illustrations, 
of  which  there  are  two  hundred  and  seventy-three,  form  one  of  the  most 
desirable  features  of  the  book,  and  greatly  enhance  its  interest  and  value. 

The  work  is  submitted  in  the  hope  that  it  may  find  a  warm  welcome  in 
thousands  of  American  homes,  and  in  the  firm  conviction  that  its  patrons 
will  be  invariably  ite  friends  and  admirers.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
never  before  in  the  history  of  book-making  has  a  work  containing  BO  vast 
an  amount  of  useful  information  been  presented  in  so  attractive  a  form  and 
given  to  the  public  at  so  low  a  price.  It  is  a  book  for  the  masses — for  old 
md  young,  rich  and  poor.  It  may  be  read  continuously,  or,  by  the  aid  of 
fce  index  at  the  end,  used  as  a  work  of  reference.  A  glance  over  its  pages 
will  serve  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  extent  and  variety  of  its  contents,  yet  the 
real  excellence  and  value  of  the  work  cannot  be  appreciated  until  it  hat 
b«en  read  from  beginning  to  end. 


CONTENTS, 


PAGE 
BlOGBAPHY ,      13 


UlSTOBY 62 

NATUBAL  HISTOBY 86 

TBAVELS,  MANNEBS  AND  CUSTOMS,  ETC 144 

THE  WOBLD  ILLUSTBATED 205 

USEFUL  ABTS  AND  MANTIPACTUBES 237 

TBEES,  PLANTS,  FBUITS,  ETC 292 

GBEAT  INVENTIONS 844 

MINING 362 

WONDEBS  OF  THE  SEA  381 

FAMTLIAB  SCIENCE 395 

LAW  FOB  THE  MASSES ,..-.. 442 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

STATISTICAL  AND  MISCELLANEOUS 477 


INDKI , 539 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Georgo  Washington        .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .13 

Napoleon  Bonaparte  ........  15 

William  Shakespeare       .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .16 

Lord  Byron      .........  17 

William  Penn        .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .18 

Benjamin  Franklin      ........  19 

Patrick  Henry      .           .           .           .                                  .           .  .20 

John  Adams     .........  21 

Thomas  Jefferson .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .22 

Alexander  Hamilton  ........  23 

John  Jacob  Astor .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .24 

Robert  Fulton  .........  25 

Andrew  Jackson  .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .26 

Henry  Clay       .           .           .           .           .           .           .  27 

Daniel  Webster     .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .28 

George  Peabody          ........  29 

Edward  Everett    .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .30 

James  Fenimore  Cooper        .......  31 

Washington  Irving           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .82 

Abraham  Lincoln        ........  33 

Horace  Greeley    .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .84 

Thurlow  Weed           ........  35 

Wendell  Phillips  .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .36 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  ........  37 

Charles  Dickens    .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .38 

William  Cullen  Bryant           .......  39 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow  .           .           .           .           .           .  .40 

Ralph  Waldo  Emersou          .  .  .  .  .  .  .41 

Jjhn  G.  Whittier  .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .42 

Alfred  Tennyson          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .43 

Herbert  Spencer   .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .44 

William  E.  Gladstone           .......  45 

Oliver  Wendbll  Holmes  .           ^           .           .           .           .           .  .46 

James  Russell  Lowell           .......  47 

Peter  Cooper         .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .48 

James  A.  Garfield       ........  49 

Ulysses  S.  Grant  .           .           .           .                       .           .           .  .50 

Samuel  J.  Tilden         ........  51 

George  F.  Edmunds        ....                      ,  .52 

Allen  G.  Thurman      .....                                  .  S3 

John  Sherman       .            .            .            .            .            .            .           ,       '  .  i& 

?,Villiam  M.  Evarts      ........  65 

Thomas  F.  Bayard           .           .           .           .           .           .           .  .56 

James  G.  131aiue         ........  57 


rili  LIST   Off   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

William  T.  Sherman      ........    58 

Philip  H.  Sheridan 59 

Grover  Cleveland  ........    60 

Thomas  A.  Heudricks          .......         61 

The  Lion  ..........    86 

The  Hippopotamus  ........         87 

The  Syrian  Bear  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .89 

The  Bison       .........         90 

The  Tiger 91 

The  Leopard  .........         92 

The  Wolf 93 

The  Giraffe     .........         94 

The  Zebu.  .  . 95 

The  Ant-Eater  .........         98 

The  Porcupine    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .97 

The  Hedgehog  .  .  .  .  .  .  .98 

The  Elk    ..........    99 

The  Stag 100 

The  Chamois      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .101 

The  Caribou  or  American  Reindeer         .  .  .  .  .        102 

Beavers    .........  .  103 

The  Ferret      .........        105 

The  Mole  ..........  106 

The  Crocodile.  ........        109 

The  Alligator      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .110 

The  Long-Eared  Bat          .  .  .  .  .  .  .111 

The  Colugo         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .112 

The  Paper  Nautilus  ........        113 

The  Flying  Fish .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .114 

The  Sea  Horse  .....  ...        115 

The  Lyre-Bird     .....  ...  116 

The  Ostrich    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .118 

The  Condor         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .119 

The  Vulture  ........  .120 

The  Solitaire        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  '.  .121 

The  Bittern    .........        122 

The  Heron 123 

The  Roseate  Spoonbill          .......        124 

The  Stork 125 

The  Crane       .........        126 

The  Crested  Grebe        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .127 

The  Cormorant         ........        128 

The  Bird  of  Paradise 129 

The  Falcon     .........       130 

The  Tailor-Bird  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .131 

The  Wheatear          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .132 

The  American  Bluejay .  .  .  •         .  .  .  .  .133 

The  Skylark   .........        133 

The  Belted  Kingfisher  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .134 

The  Starling  .........        134 

TheTitlark 135 

Butterflies 136 


LIST    OF   ILL^^'^-.A 

PAGE 

jNest  of  the  Common  Humble  Bee      .  .  .  .  .  .138 

A  Spider's  Web 141 

The  Water  Spider  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .142 

Chinese  Ladies          ........        144 

A  Chinese  Bride  .........  145 

A  Chinese  Baby  in  its  Winter  Cradle         .....        146 

Beating  on  a  Temple  Drum      .......  147 

A  Chinese  Mode  of  Punishment     ......        149 

A  Chinese  Pavilion         ........  150 

Porcelain  Tower        ........        151 

Japanese  Bride  and  Attendants  ......  152 

A  Japanese  Family   ........        153 

A  Japanese  Bed  .........  154 

A  Japanese  Temple  ........       155 

The  Hindoo         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .156 

A  Brahmin  Expounding  the  Veda  ......       157 

The  Bheels          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .158 

The  Mahrattas  of  India        .......        159 

A  Native  Musician  of  India       .......  160 

Natives  of  Banjara,  India     .......        161 

Women  of  the  Himalayas         .......  162 

Suttee  Worship,  India          .  .  .  .  .  163 

Zebu  Carriage,  India     ........  164 

Mode  of  Fishing  in  India     .  .  .  .  .  .  '         .        164 

Senegambia  Fulahs        ........  165 

The  Sourigo,  Natives  of  West  Africa         .....       166 

Chiefs  Wife  Traveling,  Central  Africa  .  .  .  .  .167 

Saluting  a  Superior  ........        168 

Bakalahari  Women  Filling  Water  Skins         .  .  .  .  .169 

A  Family  of  Bedouins          .......       170 

Arab  Dress          .........  171 

An  Arab  Tent .          .  .  .  .  .  .  .172 

Interior  of  a  Turkish  House    .......  173 

Life  in  Constantinople          .......        174 

Mexican  Women  .........  176 

Dancing  Girls  of  Mexico      .......        177 

Natives  of  South  America         .......  178 

Fruit  Dealer  of  Rio  de  Janeiro       ......        179 

House  on  the  Coast  of  Ecuador,  South  America      ....  180 

A  Piute  Lode  .....  181 

Some  Piute  Beaux         ........  182 

An  Egyptian  Woman  Churning      .  .        183 

An  Egyptian  Well          .  .  •  .184 

Approaching  the  King  in  Siam       .  ...        185 

Eating  Rice  in  Siam        .  .  •  185 

The  Abyssinians        .  .  •  ... 

The  Herdsman  of  the  Alps       .  •  187 

An  Icelandic  Lady    .  • 

Mountain  Traveling  in  Spain    .  .  189 

A  Dinner  in  Palestine  .  •        190 

The  Greek  .  .  ....  191 

Marriage  Ceremony  in  Borneo       .  ....       192 


x  LIST   OP   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOE 

Niagara  Falls  from  Below        .  .  .  .  .  .  .205 

The  Horseshoe  Fall,  Niagara          ......        206 

Rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence      .......  207 

Franoonia  Notch,  White  Mountains  .....        208 

Watkins  Glen       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .209 

Fawn's  Leap,  Catekill  Mountains  ......        210 

Trenton  Falls,  New  York          .  .  .  .  .  .  .211 

The  Bartholdi  Statue  .......        212 

The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  River    ......  213 

The  Allegheny  River  .......        214 

Natural  Bridge,  Virginia  .......  215 

Gothic  Chapel,  Mammoth  Cave,  Kentucky          ....        216 

Silver  Springs,  Florida  .  .  .  .  .  .-..'.  .  217 

Silver  Cascade,  St.  Anthony's  Falls  .....       218 

Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado  .......  219 

Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri  River,  Montana         ....       220 

Great  Springs,  Yellowstone  Pa-rk         ......  221 

Liberty  Cap,  Yellowstone  Park      ......        222 

Great  Geyser,  Yellowstone  Park         ......  223 

Bridal  Veil  Fall,  Yosemite  Valley 224 

Summit  of  the  Sierras    ........  225 

Cape  Horn  in  the  Sierras     .  .  .  .  .  .  .       226 

In  Arctic  Seas     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .227 

Loch  Katrine .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .228 

Edinburgh  Castle  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .229 

Melrose  Abbey         .....  ,  .  .       230 

Alpine  Peaks       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .231 

Garden  of  the  Tuileries,  Paris        ......        232 

Champa  Elysees,  Paris  ........  233 

Vesuvius  in  Eruption  .......       234 

Venice       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .          „       '   .  235 

Compositor  at  Work  ........       237 

Composing  Room  ........  238 

Press  Room    .........       239 

Stereotyping        .........  240 

Sewing  Books  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       241 

Wood  Engraving .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .242 

Copper-plate  Printing          .......        243 

Paper-Making  Machine  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .248 

The  Silk- Worm 250 

Calico  Printing    .........  252 

Puddling  Iron  ........        254 

Melting  Steel 255 

Glass  Manufacture— Annealing  Furnace  .....        257 
Watch-Making— The  Work  Room       .  .  .  .  .  .260 

"          "          Firing  the  Dials 261 

Piano-Making— The  Case  Room  .  .  .  .  .  .262 

"          "         The  Polishing  Room 263 

The  Manufacture  of  Soap         .  .  .  .  .  .  .264 

A  Tan-Yard 265 

Maple  Sugar — Gathering  the  Sap         ......  267 

Manufacture  of  Turpentine,  Resin  and  Tar.— Fig.  1     .  .  .269 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS.  xl 

PAGE 

Manufacture  of  Turpentine,  Resin  and  Tar.— Fig.  2  .           .           .270 

"             "           "               "        "       "  -  Fig.  3  .           .           .271 

"             "           "               "        "       "  —Fig.  4  .           .           .272 

tt             u           »               tt        «       <«  _pig.  5  .           .273 

«             «           «               «        «       «  _Figi  6  .           p              274 

Nail  Forge 277 

Manufacture  of  Needles— Drilling  the  Eyes  .  .  .  .  .279 

Tea  Plant,  Flower  and  Leaf  ......        292 

A  Tea  Farm 293 

A  Coffee  Plantation 294 

The  Cacao 295 

The  Cotton  Plant 297 

Picking  Cotton    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .298 

Flax      .  ...  .......       300 

Hemp        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .301 

Gathering  Sugar  Cane          .......       303 

Tobacco    ..........  305 

The  India  Rubber  Tree       .  .  ...  .  .306 

Gutta  Percha      .  307 

The  Castor  Oil  Plant ........       309 

The  Camphor  Tree        .....  .  310 

Peppermint    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ...       311 

Wine  Growing      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .312 

The  Nutmeg  .........       314 

Tho  Clove  Tree 315 

Cinnamon       .........       316 

Allspice    ..........  317 

The  Almond  .........       317 

The  Cocoanut  Tree        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .318 

'The  Pineapple  ........        319 

The  Banana  Tree  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .320 

The  Date 321 

The  Fig     .          .  . 322 

The  Orange    .........       323 

The  Lemon         .  .  .  .  ...  .  .  .323 

Olives  ..........       324 

The  Jak  Tree       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .326 

Twining  Hyacinth  of  California      ......        327 

The  Big  Trees  of  California      .  .  .  .  .  .  .328 

The  Ivory  Plant         ........        330 

The  Betel-Nut  Tree       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .331 

The  Talipat  Palm  Tree        .......       333 

The  Bamboo        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .335 

The  Star  Fish  Cactus  .......        336 

A  Peruvian  Forest         ........  337 

The  Banyan  Tree       .....  341 

George  Stephenson's  First  Locomotive          .....  345 

A  Modern  Printing  Press     .......        349 

Shuttle  of  the  Wheeler  and  Wilson  Sewing  Machine  .  .  .353 

The  Spinning  Jenny  ........        356 

The  Type  Writer  - 338 

A  Silver  Mine          ».,,.%,,       866 


xu  LIST   Of   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Diamond  Mining  in  Africa        .......  368 

Coal  Miners  at  Work  .......        370 

Coal  Cars 371 

Interior  of  a  Shaft     ........        372 

Entrance  to  the  Mine     ........  374 

Passage  to  the  Mine  ........       375 

The  Illuminated  Lake    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .876 

Tropical  Anemone    ........        382 

Fringed  Anemone  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  383 

The  Diver      .  .  .  .  .  ...  .  .385 

Sheila  of  the  Indian  Ocean        .......  387 

A  Living  Sponge        ........        390 

A  Sea  Aater  Attached  to  a  Crab          .  .  .  .  .  .  392 

A  Singular  Star  Fish  .  .  .  .  .  .394 

Herschel's  Theory  of  Sun  Spots         ......  401 

Wind  Cloud 433 

The  Simoon         .........  43-.' 

Waterspouts  .........        434 

Eain  Cloud          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .436 

Snow  Cloud    .........        437 

Snow  Crystals     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  438 


BIOGRAPHY. 


George  Washington. — George  Washington  was  born  in  Westmorc, 
land  County,  Virginia,  February  22, 1732,  and  was  the  son  of  Augustine 
Washington,  who  died  in  1744.  His  early  life  was  spent  chiefly  with  hi» 
brother  at  Mount  Ver- 
nou,  and  with  Lord 
Fairfax,  who  owned 
great  estates  in  the  Vir- 
ginia valley;  and  in  1748 
ho  engaged  to  survey 
these  wild  territories 
for  a  doubloon  a  day, 
camping  out  for  mouths 
in  the  forest,  in  peril 
from  Indians  and  squat- 
ters. At  the  age  of  19, 
at  the  beginning  of  the 
Seven  Years'  War,  he 
was  appointed  Adjutant 
of  the  provincial  troope, 
with  the  rank  of  Major; 
in  1751,  he  made  his 
only  sea  voyage — a  trip 
to  Barbadoes— with  his 
brother  Lawrence,  who 
died  soon  after,  and  left 
George  heir  to  his  es- 
tates at  Mount  Vernon. 
At  22  (1754),  he  com- 
manded a  regiment 
against  the  French,  who 
had  established  them- 
selves at  Fort  Duquesne 
(now  Pittsburgh),  and 
held  Fort  Necessity 
against  superior  num- 
bers, until  compelled  to  capitulate.  The  year  following,  when  two  regiments 
of  regulars  were  led  against  Fort  Duquesne  by  General  Braddock,  Wash- 
ington volunteered;  and  at  the  disastrous  ambuscade  of  July  9, 1755,  he  was 
the  only  aide  not  killed  or  wounded.  He  had  four  bullets  through  his  coat, 
and  two  horses  were  skot  under  him.  In  1759,  he  married  Mrs.  Martha 
Custis,  a  wealthy  widow.  He  was,  like  nearly  all  Americans  of  property  at 
that  period,  a  slaveholder,  and  possessed  at  his  death  124  slaves,  whom  he 
directed,  in  his  will,  to  be  emancipated  at  the  death  of  his  wife  (who  sur- 


GEOBGE  WASHINGTON. 


14        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

vived  him  but  three  years),  so  that  the  negroes  of  the  two  estates,  who  had 
intermarried,  might  not  be  separated.  He  was  for  some  years  a  member  of 
the  Virginia  Assembly;  and  in  1774,  he  was  ready  to  fight  for  the  constitu- 
tional rights  of  the  colonists.  The  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  (April  19, 
1775)  called  the  country  to  arms;  and  Washington,  then  a  member  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  was  elected  Commander-in-Chief  by  that  body.  -He 
hastened  to  the  camp  at  Cambridge;  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Boston; 
was  driven  from  New  York;  compelled  to  retreat  across  New  Jersey;  often 
defeated,  and  reduced  to  the  most  desperate  straits,  by  disaffection,  lack  of 
men  and  supplies,  and  even  cabals  against  his  authority;  but  by  hia  calm 
courage,  prudence,  firmness  and  perseverance,  he  brought  the  war,  with 
the  aid  of  powerful  allies,  to  a  successful  termination;  and  (December  23, 
1783),  the  independence  of  the  thirteen  colonies  achieved,  ho  retired  from 
the  army  to  Mount  Vernon.  He  refused  pay,  but  kept  a  minute  account  of 
his  personal  expenses,  which  were  reimbursed  by  Congress.  The  Federa- 
tion of  States  having  failed  to  give  an  efficient  government,  Washington  pro- 
posed conventions  for  commercial  purposes,  which  led  to  the  convention  of 
1787,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  which  formed  the  present  Federal  consti- 
tution, considered  by  him  as  the  only  alternative  to  anarchy  and  civil  war. 
Under  this  constitution  he  was  chosen  President,  and  inaugurated  at  New 
York,  April  30,  1789.  He  served  two  terms,  and  died  December  14, 1799. 

John  Milton. — This  English  poet  was  born  in  London,  December  9, 
1608.  His  father  was  of  an  ancient  Catholic  family,  but  was  disinherited  on 
becoming  a  Protestant.  By  occupation  he  was  a  scrivener,  and  a  person  of 
great  musical  accomplishments,  being  the  composer,  among  other  things,  of 
two  well-known  psalm  tunes — "  Norfolk  "  and  "  York."  From  him  the  son 
derived  his  matchless  ear  and  that  strict  integrity  of  character  for  which  he 
was  famous.  Milton  was  carefully  nurtured  and  educated,  graduating  in 
1632  from  Christ  College,  Cambridge,  with  the  degree  of  A.  M.  He  married 
Mary  Powell,  the  daughter  of  an  Oxfordshire  royalist,  by  whom  he  had  three 
daughters,  Ann,  Mary,  and  Deborah.  The  union  was  an  unhappy  one  and 
a  separation  followed.  The  wife  was  fond  of  gay  society,  while  the  husband 
was  of  an  austere,  philosophic  mind,  and  two  such  natures  coming  together 
the  inevitable  clashing  at  once  ensued.  A  genuine  and  permanent  recon- 
ciliation took  place  after  a  lapse  of  time,  however.  Death  calling  his  first 
wife  home,  the  poet  married  a  second,  but  she  lived  only  about  two  years, 
dying  in  childbirth.  Unceasing  study  affected  Milton's  eyesight  and  he  be- 
came totally  blind,  but  this  did  not  hinder  his  marrying  a  third  time.  "  Par- 
adise Lost,"  his  greatest  poem,  was  sold  for  £5,  with  the  promise  of  another 
like  amount  from  the  publisher  when  sales  had  reached  1,300  copies.  He 
died  Sunday,  November  8, 1674,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  St.  Giles, 
Cripplegate,  by  his  father's  side.  He  left  some  £1,500  in  property.  Milton 
was  stately  and  grand  above  all  English  poets.  In  one  of  his  prose  tracts 
he  did  not  scruple  to  say  that  he  proposed  to  write  a  poem  which  would  be 
one  of  the  glories  of  the  century.  His  pledge  was  at  last  redeemed  in  old 
age,  blindness  and  neglect. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte. — The  celebrated  warrior  and  Emperor  of  the 
French,  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  was  born  at  Ajaccio,  in  the  island  of  Corsica, 
August  15,  1769.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  entered  the  military  school  of  Bri- 
enne,  as  a  lung's  pensioner.  In  1785  he  obtained  his  commission  as  Sub- 
I4euteuant  in.  the  artillery  regiment  de  ?a  Fere,  When  th,o  Revolution  broke 


BIOGRAPHY. 


15 


ont  Napoleon  took  the  popular  side,  but  in  a  quiet  and  undemonstrative 
way.  In  December,  1793,  lie  was  sent  by  the  convention  to  assist  in  the  re- 
duction of  Toulon,  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  artillery.  In  the 
following  February  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General.  In  1795 
the  convention  was  in  great  peril,  on  account  of  the  mutinous  spirit  of  the 
arrondissemcnts  of  the  capital,  and  Napoleon  was  made  commander  of  the 
troops  provided  for  its  defence.  On  the  4th  of  October,  1795,  the  national 
guard,  30,000  strong,  attempted  to  force  its  way  into  the  Tuileries,  where  the 
convention  was  sitting,  but 
was  routed  and  dispersed 
by  a  terrible  cannonade  di- 
rected by  the  young  artil- 
lery officer.  Napoleon  was 
immediately  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  army 
of  the  interior.  About  this 
time  he  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Josephine  Beauhar- 
nais.  Captivated  by  her 
elegant  manners  and  amia- 
ble disposition,  he  proposed 
marriage  to  the  graceful 
widow,  and  was  accepted. 
The  ceremony  took  place 
March  9, 1796.  A  few  days 
before  he  had  been  appoint- 
ed to  the  supreme  command 
of  the  army  of  Italy,  and  he 
was  forced  to  leave  his  bride 
almost  at  the  altar.  His  fa- 
mous campaigns  against  the 
Austrians  for  the  conquest 
of  Upper  Italy,  his  invasion 
of  Egypt,  his  phenomenal 
successes  in  the  field,  often 
against  apparently  insur- 
mountable obstacles,  are 

matters  of  history  which  volumes  would  be  required  to  describe.  He  over- 
threw the  Directory  in  Paris  and  became  ruler  of  France,  being  crowned 
Emperor  in  1804,  and  in  the  same  year  was  made  Bang  of  Italy.  He  fought 
successfully  against  the  allied  forces  of  Russia  and  Austria  at  Austerlitz,  an- 
nihilated the  power  of  Prussia  and  captured  Berlin,  defeated  Spain  and 
seized  the  city  of  Madrid.  His  wife  Josephine  having  borne  him  no  chil- 
dren, being  ambitious  to  perpetuate  his  power  in  his  family,  he  proceeded 
to  divorce  her,  and  married  Maria  Louisa,  Archduchess  of  Austria.  Such  is 
the  outline  of  the  history  of  the  wonderful  conquests  of  Napoleon,  but  soon 
disasters  fell  thick  and  fast.  He  invaded  Russia  with  an  army  of  half  a 
million  men.  The  Russians  retreated,  deliberately  wasting  the  country  and 
carrying  off  the  supplies,  but  avoiding  all  engagements,  the  design  being  to 
surround  Napoleon  in  the  heart  of  the  country,  and,  by  the  help  of  famine 
and  the  rigors  of  a  northern  winter,  annihilate  him.  When  he  reached  Mos- 
cow the  city  was  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  and  a  fire  broke  out  which 
raged  for  three  days  and  left  the  city  a  heap  of  ruins,  When  he  began  hi» 


NAPOLEON  BONAPAKTE. 


1(3 


CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


retreat  his  army  was  reduced  to  120,000,  and  when  ho  at  last  escaped  from 
Russia  ho  had  not  more  than  25,000.  Afterward,  in  his  conflict  with  tho 
allied  powers  of  Prussia,  Austria,  and  Russia,  at  Leipzig,  and  with  tho  En- 
glish and  Prussians  at  Waterloo,  ho  was  completely  annihilated,  and  lost  his 
crown  and  liberty.  Ho  died  an  exile  on  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  May  5, 1821. 

William  Shakespeare. — This  famous  man,  who  has  been  called  "  the 
chief  literary  glory  of  England,"  was  born  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  April  23, 

1564.  His  father,  John  Shake- 
speare, was  a  yeoman,  but  his 
mother,  Mary  Arden,  came  of 
a  good  old  Warwickshire  fam- 
ily. William  was  the  third 
child  of  a  family  of  four  sous 
and  four  daughters,  and  at  tho 
free  grammar  school  of  Strat- 
ford received  his  entire  educa- 
tion. Misfortune  overtook  the 
father  when  the  son  was  four- 
teen years  of  ago,  and  in  con- 
sequence William  was  with- 
drawn from  school  and  set  to 
work  to  earn  his  own  liveli- 
hood. In  what  manner  he  was 
employed  is  unknown,  but  it  is 
probable  that  he  lived  miscel- 
laneoiisly  as  ho  could.  At  the 
age  of  nineteen  ho  was  married 
to  Anne  Hathaway,  of  Shottery. 
Four  children  were  born  to 
them,  two  daughters  and  one 
son,  the  last  mentioned  dying 
in  his  twelfth  year.  Shake- 
speare went  to  London  in  1586, 
and  became  identified  in  an 
humble  capacity  with  the  Blackfriars  Theatre,  and  very  speedily  we  find 
him  a  man  of  some  importance,  at  onco  dramatist,  actor,  and  shareholder  in 
the  institution.  As  an  actor  he  seems  at  no  time  to  have  shone  especially, 
being  rather  respectable  than  eminent.  As  dramatist,  his  magnificent  pow- 
ers were  at  once  recognized,  and  in  no  long  time  had  won  for  him  the  very 
foremost  rank  among  tho  writers  for  the  stage  of  his  time.  Ho  was  a  man  of 
shrewd  business  ability,  and  his  material  prosperity  kept  pace  with  his  po- 
etical reputation.  In  addition  to  being  a  considerable  shareholder  in  tho 
Blackfriars  Theatre  he  became  part  proprietor  of  the  Globe,  subsequently 
erected.  To  both  he  contributed  dramas,  and  from  his  gains  in  the  triple 
capacity  of  actor,  author,  and  shareholder,  ho  rapidly  amassed  a  fortune. 
He  purchased  largely  of  landed  property  in  his  native  town  of  Stratford,  and 
in  1613  left  London  and  established  himself  at  the  former  place,  where  he 
occupied  the  closing  days  of  his  life  in  agricultural  pursuits,  but  still  con- 
tinued to  write  for  the  stage.  His  death  took  place  on  his  53d  birthday, 
April  23, 1616.  The  only  works  of  Shakespeare  certainly  published  under 
his  own  hand  were  the  two  poems  "  Venus  and  Adonis  "  and  the  "  Rape  of 
liucrece,"  which  appeared  in  1593—1594  respectively.  As  was  naturally  to  be 


WILLIAM  SHAKESPEABE. 


17 

looked  for  in  the  case  of  pieces  on  the  stage  so  popular,  certain  of  his  dramas 
found  their  way  from  time  to  time  into  print,  but  no  authoritative  edition  of 
any  of  them  was  issued  during  his  lifetime.  The  first  collected  edition  of 
his  dramas  was  issued  in  1623,  by  Heminge  and  Condell,  his  friends  and  co- 
proprietors  in  the  Blackfriars  and  Globe  theatres.  A  second  edition  fol- 
lowed in  1632;  a  third  in  1664;  and  a  fourth  in  1685.  In  1709,  appeared  the 
edition  of  Howe,  with  a  prefatory  sketch  of  the  poet's  life.  Of  the  "  Shake- 
spearean literature  "  which  followed,  and  the  various  re-issues  of  the  dramas, 
with  such  masses  of  critical 
commentary  and  emenda- 
tion as  no  other  writer  has 
ever  perhaps  been  made  the 
subject  of,  it  would  be  hope- 
less to  attempt  an  account. 

Lord  Byron. — George 
Gordon,  Lord  Byron,  was 
born  in  Holies  Street,  Lon- , 
don,  on  the  22d  of  January, 
1788.  He  was  the  only  son 
of  Captain  John  Byron,  of 
the  Guards,  and  Catherine 
Gordon,  of  Gight,  an  heir- 
ess in  Aberdeenshire.  Cap- 
tain Byron  and  his  wife  did 
not  live  happily.  The  hus- 
band's habits  were  profligate 
in  the  highest  degree,  and 
the  wife's  fortune  was  soon 
squandered.  Separated 
from  her  husband,  the  lady 
retired  to  the  city  of  Aber- 
deen with  her  little  lame 
boy,  whom  she  passionately 
loved,  her  sole  income  at 
this  time  being  about  £130 
per  annum.  In  his  llth 
year,  Byron  succeeded  his  grand  uncle,  William  Lord  Byron;  and  mother 
and  son  immediately  left  the  north  for  Newstead  Abbey,  the  ancient  seat  of 
the  family.  On  succeeding  to  the  title,  Byron  was  placed  in  a  private  school 
at  Dulwich,  and  thereafter  sent  to  Harrow.  In  1805,  he  removed  to  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge;  and  two  years  thereafter  his  first  volume  of  verse,  en- 
titled "  Hours  of  Idleness,"  was  printed  at  Newark.  The  poems  therein 
contained  were  not  absolutely  without  merit,  but  they  might  have  been 
written  by  any  well-educated  lad,  who,  in  addition  to  ordinary  ability,  pos- 
sessed the  slightest  touch  of  poetic  sensibility.  The  volume  was  fiercely 
assailed  by  Lord  (then  Mr.)  Brougham,  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  and  his 
sarcasms  stung  Byron  into  a  poet.  The  satire,  "  English  Bards  and  Scotch 
Reviewers,"  was  written  in  reply  to  the  article  in  the  Edinburgh,  and  the 
town  was  taken  by  a  play  of  wit  and  a  mastery  of  versification  unequalled 
since  the  days  of  Pope.  In  1812,  he  published  the  first  two  cantos  of  "  Childe 
Harold,"  with  immense  success,  and  was  at  once  enrolled  among  the  great 
poeta  of  his  country.  During  the  next  two  years,  he  produced  "  Th« 


LORD  BYEON. 


18 


CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


Giaour,"  "The  Bride  of  Abydos,"  "The  Corsair,"  and  "Lara."  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Milbanke,  daughter  of  Sir  Ralph  Milbanke,  a  baronet  in  the  County 
of  Durham.  This  xinion  proved  singularly  infelicitous.  It  lasted  only  a 
year,  and  during  that  brief  period,  money  embarrassments,  recriminations, 
and  all  the  miseries  incident  to  an  ill-assorted  marriage,  were  of  frequent 
occurrence.  After  the  birth  of  her  child  Ada,  Lady  Byron  retired  to  her 
father's  house,  and  refused  to  return.  At  Geneva,  Byron  produced  the 
third  canto  of'Childo  Harold"  and  "The  Prisoner  of  Chillon."  "Man- 
fred "  and  "  The  Lament  of  Tasso  "  were  written  in  1817.  The  next  year, 
ho  was  at  Venice,  and  finished  "  Childe  Harold "  there;  and,  in  the 

gay  and  witty  "  Beppo,"  made 
an  experiment  in  the  new  field 
which  he  was  afterwards  to 
work  so  successfully.  During 
the  next  three  years,  he  pro- 
duced the  first  five  cantos  of 
"  Don  Juan,"  and  a  number  of 
dramas  of  various  merit, 
"  Cain  "  and  "  Werner"  being 
opposite  poles  In  1822,  he 
removed  to  Pisa,  and  worked 
there  at  "Don  Juan,"  which 
poem,  with  the  exception  of 
"  The  Vision  of  Judgment," 
occupied  his  pen  almost  up  to 
the  close  of  his  life.  He  died 
at  Missolonghi,  in  Greece, 
April  19,  1824.  His  body  was 
conveyed  to  England;  and, 
denied  a  resting-place  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  it  rests  in  the 
family  vault  in  the  village 
church  of  Hucknall,  near  New- 
stead. 

William    Fenn.  —  The 

celebrated  English  Quaker 

•WILLIAM  PENN.  an^  philanthropist  and  found- 

er of  the  colony  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, William  Penn,  was  the  son  of  Sir  William  Penn,  an  eminent  English 
admiral,  and  was  born  at  London,  October  14,  1644.  He  studied  at  Christ 
Church,  Oxford,  and  while  here  was  converted  to  Quakerism  by  Thomas 
Loe.  His  enthusiasm  for  his  new  faith  was  very  great,  and  for  non-confor- 
mity with  the  customs  and  services  of  the  Church  of  England  he  was  beaten 
and  turned  out  of  doors  by  his  father,  and,  on  one  occasion,  imprisoned  in 
the  Tower  of  London,  and  at  another  time  in  Newgate.  His  famous  works, 
"  No  Cross,  No  Crown,"  "Innocency  with  her  Open  Face,"  and  "  The  Great 
Cause  of  Liberty  of  Conscience  "  were  written  while  in  prison.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1670,  Admiral  Peun  died,  leaving  his  son  an  estate  of  £1,500  a  year,  to- 
gether with  claims  against  the  government  for  £16,000.  He  married,  in  the 
beginning  of  1672,  Gulielma  Maria  Springett,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Sprin- 
gett,  and  for  some  years  thereafter  continued  to  propagate,  by  preaching 
and  writing,  the  doctrines  of  his  sect.  Circumstances  having  turned  his  atr 


BIOGRAPHY. 


19 


tontion  to  the  New  World,  he,  in  1681,  obtained  from  the  nrown,  in  lion  of 
his  monetary  claim  upon  it,  a  grant  of  the  territory  now  forming  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania.  Penn  wanted  to  call  it  Sylvauia,  on  account  of  its  forests; 
but  the  king  (Charles  II)  good-humoredly  insisted  on  the  prefix  Penn.  His 
great  desire  was  to  establish  a  home  for  his  co-religionists  in  the  distant 
West,  where  they  might  preach  and  practice  their  convictions  in  peace.  Penn, 
with  several  friends,  sailed  for  the  Delaware  in  August,  1682,  was  well  re- 
ceived by  the  settlers,  and  on  the  30th  of  November  held  his  famous  inter- 
view with  the  Indian  tribes, 
under  a  large  elm  tree  at 
Shackamaxon,  now  Kensing- 
ton. He  next  planned  and 
named  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  for  two  years  governed 
the  colony  in  the  wisest,  most 
benevolent  and  liberal  manner. 
Not  only  Quakers,  but  perse- 
cuted  members  of  other  re- 
ligious sects,  sought  refuge  in 
his  new  colony,  where,  from 
the  first,  the  principle  of  tol- 
eration was  established  by  law. 
Having  called  the  colonists  to- 
gether, he  gave  the  infant  state 
a  constitution  in  twenty-four 
articles.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Charles  II,  Penn 
returned  to  England  to  exert 
himself  in  favor  of  his  perse- 
cuted brethren  at  home.  His 
exertions  in  favor  of  the  Qua- 
kers were  so  far  successful, 
that  in  1686  a  proclamation  was 
issued  to  release  all  persons 
imprisoned  on  account  of  their 
religious  opinions,  and  more 
than  1,200  Quakers  were  set  free.  In  1693,  his  wile  died,  but  in  less  than 
two  years  ho  married  again.  His  second  wife,  Hannah  Callowhill,  was  a 
Bristol  lady.  In  1699  he  paid  a  second  visit  to  the  New  World,  and  found 
Pennsylvania  in  a  prosperous  condition.  His  stay,  which  lasted  two  years, 
was  marked  by  many  useful  measures,  and  by  efforts  to  ameliorate  the  con- 
dition both  of  the  Indians  and  Negroes.  Penn  departed  for  England  towards 
the  end  of  1701,  leaving  the  management  of  his  affairs  to  a  Quaker  agent 
named  Ford,  whose  villainy  virtually  ruined  Penn.  When  the  rogue  died, 
he  left  to  his  widow  and  son  false  claims  against  his  master,  and  these  were 
so  ruthlessly  pressed,  that  Penn  allowed  himself  to  be  thrown  into  the  Fleet 
in  1708,  to  avoid  extortion.  His  friends  afterwards  procured  his  release,  but 
not  till  his  constitution  was  fatally  impaired.  Penn  died  at  Euscombe,  in 
Berkshire,  July  30,  1718. 

Benj  amiii  Franklin. — The  distinguished  philosopher  and  statesman, 
Benjamin  Franklin,  was  born  at  Boston,  Jamiary  17, 1706.  His  parents  were 
poor,  and  had  a  family  of  seventeen  children,  he  being  the  fifteenth.  Josiah 


BENJAMIN  FKANKLTN. 


20 


CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


Franklin,  his  father,  had  loft  England  in  1685,  and  settled  in  America,  where 
he  followed  the  business  of  soap-boiler  and  tallow  chandler.  At  the  age  of 
eight,  Franklin  was  sent  to  school,  where  he  displayed  groat  aptitude  for 
learning.  At  twelve,  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  step-brother  James,  who 
had  set  up  a  printing  shop  in  the  place,  and  ho  soon  acquired  considerable 
proficiency  at  that  trade.  He  was  passionately  fond  of  reading,  and  all  the 
time  he  could  spare  he  devoted  to  the  perusal  of  such  books  as  he  could  lay 
his  hands  on.  His  brother  treated  him  unkindly,  and  he  secretly  left  home 

and  journeyed  to  New  York, 
and  thence  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  procured  employ- 
ment in  a  printing  office.  Ho 
led  a  somewhat  wandering 
life  and  endured  many  hard- 
ships, until  in  172G,  with  the 
assistance  of  friends,  he  start- 
ed in  business  for  himself  in 
Philadelphia.  He  became  edi- 
tor and  proprietor  of  the  Ga- 
zeUe,  and  published  the  fa- 
mous "  Poor  Eichard's  Alma- 
nac." In  1730  he  married  a 
Miss  Bead.  He  founded  the 
first  association  for  extinguish- 
ing fires  and  the  first  com- 
pany for  insurance  against 
fire,  and  through  his  instru- 
mentality was  established  the 
first  public  library  in  Phila- 
delphia. Among  the  public 
offices  to  which  ho  was  ap- 
pointed were  those  of  clerk  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  1736;  postmaster  of 
Philadelphia  in  1737;  repre- 
sentative of  Philadelphia  in 
the  Assembly  in  1747.  In 
1753,  he  was  appointed  Deputy  Postmaster-General  for  the  British  colonies. 
In  1757,  he  was  sent  to  England  to  settle  some  matters  for  the  Assembly, 
and  so  ably  did  he  perform  his  task,  that  Massachusetts,  Maryland,  and 
Georgia  severally  appointed  him  their  English  agent.  In  1752  he  discovered 
the  identity  of  electricity  with  lightning,  and  turned  his  discovery  to  account 
by  publishing  a  plan  for  defending  houses  from  lightning  by  the  use  of 
pointed  conductors.  Ho  likewise  "made  important  discoveries  with  regard 
to  the  laws  that  regulate  the  electric  fluid,  a  subject  hitherto  very  imper- 
fectly understood.  His  renown  was  spread  over  the  whole  civilized  world, 
and  honors  were  heaped  upon  him  by  the  various  learned  societies  of  Eu- 
rope. Ho  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1775,  and 
from  that  time  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  obtain  a  Declaration  of  the 
Independence  of  the  thirteen  American  States.  This  Declaration  was  pro- 
nounced by  Congress  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  and  Franklin  was  appointed 
United  States  Minister  at  the  Court  of  France,  where  he  succeeded  in  induc- 
ing the  French  government  to  form  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with. 


PATRICK  HENKT. 


the  States.  On  the  20th  of  January,  1782,  Franklin  had  the  supreme  satis- 
faction of  signing  at  Paris,  with  the  English  commissioners,  the  treaty  of 
peace  by  which  the  independence  of  the  American  colonies  was  assured. 
Returning  to  America  in  1785,  he  was  successively  chosen  member  and  presi- 
dent of  the  supreme  executive  council  for  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  in 
1787  delegate  for  Pennsylvania  to  the  convention  for  the  revision  and  emen- 
dation of  the  Articles  of  Union.  In  1788,  he  retired  from  public  life,  and 
died  April  17, 1790,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  84. 

Patrick  Henry — This 
eminent  American  orator  was 
born  in  Hanover  County,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1736.  His  father  was 
a  native  of  Scotland,  and  a 
nephew  of  Robertson,  the  cele- 
brated his  torian.  In  early  life, 
Henry  seemed  too  indolent  to 
apply  himself  to  any  regular 
occupation.  Ho  managed,  how- 
ever, to  pick  up  much  general 
information,  and  seemed  to 
possess  byintuition  a  profound 
knowledge  of  human  nature 
in  its  various  phases.  Having 
failed  successively  in  "  store- 
keeping  "  and  in  farming,  he 
was  at  length  induced  to  try 
the  profession  of  law.  For  a 
few  years  this  seemed  to  prom- 
ise no  better  success  than  his 
former  occupations  had  done, 
but  having  been  employed  in 
1755  to  plead  the  cause  of  the 

people  against  an  unpopular  =  "JOHN  ADAMS. 

tax,  his  peculiar  talent  seemed 
suddenly  to  develop  itself;  his  eloquence,  untaught  except  by  the  inspira- 
tion of  native  genius,  thrilled  the  audience,  and  held  it  in  rapt  attention 
more  than  two  hours.  From  that  moment  to  the  present  day  he  has  been 
universally  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  American  orators.  He  was  a  zealous 
patriot  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
influential  members  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  when  that  State  was  delib- 
erating whether  or  not  to  join  Massachusetts  in  forcibly  resisting  the  arbi- 
trary policy  of  the  home  government.  Henry  was  a  delegate  to  the  first 
general  Congress,  which  met  at  Philadelphia,  in  September,  1774,  and  his 
voice  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence  of  that  assembly.  His  eloquence  on 
that  occasion  is  said  to  have  astonished  all  his  hearers.  In  1776,  he  was 
elected  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  was  afterwards  twice  re-elected.  In  1795, 
Washington  appointed  him  Secretary  of  State.  He  died  in  1799. 

John  Adams. — The  second  President  of  the  United  States  was  born  at 
Braintree,  in  Massachusetts,  on  the  19th  of  October,  1735.  His  parents  were 
descended  from  a  Puritan  family  which  had  emigrated  from  England  to  Mas- 


22        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

sachnsetts  in  1640.    Before  the  Revolution  Adams  had  distinguished  himself 
as  a  jurist,  and  wrote  in  the  liostou  Journal  on  "Canon  Law  and  Feudal 
Law  "  (1705).     He  was  sent  by  Massachusetts  to  the  Congress  which  com- 
menced its   sittings  in  Philadelphia  in  1774.    With  Lee  and  Jefferson  ho 
boldly  argued  for  a  separation  from  the  mother-country;  and  Lee's  propo- 
sition of  a  Declaration  of  Independence  was  carried  on  the  4th  of  July,  177G. 
Adams  and  Jefferson  had  been  appointed  to  draw  up  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, but  it  appears  that  Jefferson  was  the  sole  author  of  it.    In  suc- 
ceeding   years,    Adams    was 
employed  on  many  important 
negotiations    with    European 
powers;  among  others,  he  as- 
sisted Franklin,  Jay,  Jefferson 
and  Laurens,  hi  1782,  in  set- 
tling the  conditions  of  peace 
with   England.     In   1785    he 
went  to  London  as  the  first 
ambassador  from  the  Union. 
George    III  expressed    his 
pleasure  in  receiving  an  am- 
bassador who  had  no  preju- 
dices in  favor  of  the  French, 
the  natural  enemy  of  the  En- 
glish crown,  and  Adams  re- 
plied: "  I  have  no  proj  ndices 
but  in   favor   of  my   native 
land."    He  published  in  Lon- 
don his  "  Defence  of  the  Con- 
stitutions of  Government  of 
the  United  States "   (3  vols. 
1787) .    On  his  return  to  Amer- 
ica, in  the  same  year,  he  was 
elected  as  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  and  on  the 
retirement  of  Washington  (in 
1797,  became    President.     In 
1801,  -when  his  term  of  four  years  of  office  had  expired,  his  adversary  Jeffer- 
son was  elected  by  a  majority  of  one  vote.    Adams  now  retired  to  his  estate 
at  Quincy,  near  Boston,  where  he  occupied  himself  with  agricultural  pur- 
suits.   After  this  retirement,  he  received  many  proofs  of  respect  and  confi- 
dence from  his  countrymen.    When  85  years  old,  we  find  him  still  in  hia 
place  as  member  of  the  convention  appointed  (1820)  to  revise  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Massachusetts.    He  died  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  on  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  day  when  he  had  proclaimed  in  Congress  the  independence  of 
the  United  States. 

Thomas  Jefferson.— The  third  President  of  the  United  States,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  was  the  son  of  a  planter,  and  was  born  at  Shadwell,  Albemarlo 
County,  Virginia,  April  2,  1743.  Ho  studied  at  William  and  Mary's  College, 
Williamsburg;  and  after  leaving  college,  was  engaged  for  some  years  in  the 
practice  of  law.  In  1769,  he  was  elected  to  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses, 
where  he  joined  zealously  with  the  revolutionary  party.  In  1773,  as  a  Mem- 
ber of  the  Assembly,  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  measures  which  re- 


THOMAS   JEFFEBSON. 


suited  in  the  calling  of  the  Continental  Congress,  to  wliich  he  was  sent  as  a 
delegate,  where  he  drew  up  the  celebrated  Declaration  of  Independence. 
During  the  war  in  defence  of  this  Declaration,  he  was  Governor  of  Virginia, 
and  in  1784  was  sent  Minister  to  France,  where  his  manners,  accomplish- 
ments, and  more  solid  qualities  did  much  to  secure  to  America  the  powerful 
alliance  that  insured  her  success.  Returning  in  1789,  he  was  appointed,  by 
Washington,  Secretary  of  State,  a  post  due  to  his  abilities,  hia  influence,  and 
his  distinguished  services.  The  Federal  constitution  had  been  adopted,  and 
the  two  parties  which  soon  di- 
vided the  country  began  to  de- 
velop themselves.  Washing- 
ton, John  Adams,  Jay,  and 
Hamilton  were  in  favor  of  a 
strong  centralized  govern- 
ment; Jefferson  led  the  party 
in  favor  of  States'  rights,  and 
a  Federal  Government  of  re- 
stricted and  carefully  denned 
powers.  The  first  party  took 
the  name  of  Federalists;  the 
latter  wer«  first  called  Anti- 
Federalists,  then  Republicans, 
and  finally  adopted  the  title 
first  given  them,  as  a  reproach, 
of  Democrats.  When  Wash- 
ington retired,  after  eight  years 
of  office  as  President,  a  new 
election  took  place,  the  two 
highest  candidates,  as  leaders 
of  the  opposing  parties,  were  ?S 
John  Adams  and  Jefferson. 
Adams,  having  the  largest 
vote,  was  declared  President, 
while  Jefferson,  having  the 
next  highest  number,  became 
the  Vice-President,  1797.  The 
strife  of  these  parties  culmi- 
nated in  1800,  when  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr  were  elected  President  and 
Yice-President,  against  John  Adams,  the  Federal  candidate.  On  entering 
upon  the  Presidency,  he  reduced  the  government  to  a  republican  simplicity, 
made  few  removals,  and  resolutely  refused  to  appoint  any  of  his  own  rela- 
tives to  office.  The  most  important  act  of  his  administration  was  the  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana  from  France.  At  the  end  of  eight  years,  he  retired  to  hia 
residence  at  Monticello.  His  death  was  very  remarkable;  it  occurred  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1826,  while  the  nation  was  celebrating  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  he  had  written.  On  the  same 
day,  and  almost  at  the  same  hour,  John  Adams,  the  second  President,  who 
had  signed  with  him  the  Declaration,  died  in  New  England. 

Alexander  Hamilton. — This  celebrated  American  statesman  was  born 
in  January,  175fc  in  the  West  Indian  island  of  Nevis,  and  was  the  son  of  a 
Scotch  merchant  who  had  married  a  young  French  widow.  His  father  soon 
failed  in  business,  and  Alexander,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  had  to  enter  the 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON. 


24        CYCLOPEDIA    Of    VSBFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 


souuting-house  of  a  rich  American  merchant,  named  Crugcr.  His  extra- 
ordinary abilities,  however,  induced  some  of  his  friends  to  procure  for  him 
a  better  education  than  could  be  got  at  home.  He  was  accordingly  sent  to  a 
grammar-school  at  Elizabeth  town,  New  Jersey;  and  shortly  afterwards  en- 
tered Columbia  College,  New  York.  On  the  first  appearance  of  disagree- 
ment between  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies,  Hamilton,  still  a  schoolboy, 
and  barely  eighteen,  wrote  a  series  of  papers  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  the 
latter,  which  were  at  first  taken  for  the  production  of  the  eminent  statesman 

Jay,  and  which  secured  for  the 
writer  the  notice  and  consid- 
eration of  the  popular  leaders. 
On  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  he 
obtained  a  commission  as  Cap- 
tain of  Artillery,  gained  the 
confidence  of  Washington,  was 
made  his  aide-de-camp  in  1777, 
and  acquired  the  greatest  in- 
fluence with  him  as  his  friend 
and  adviser.  In  1780,  he  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  General 
Schuyler,  who  was  a  member 
of  a  very  old  family.  On  the 
termination  of  the  war,  he  left 
the  service  with  the  rank  of 
Colonel,  and  betaking  himself 
to  legal  studies,  soon  became 
one  of  the  most  eminent  law- 
yers in  New  York.  In  1782,  he 
was  elected  by  the  State  of 
New  York  a  Bepresentative  at 
the  Continental  Congress;  in 
1786,  he  became  a  member  of 
the  New  York  Legislature;  and 
in  1787,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  delegates  to  the  con- 
vention which  met  at  Phila- 
delphia, for  the  purpose  of  re- 
vising the  Articles  of  Confederation.  In  conjunction  with  Madison,  he  had 
the  most  important  share  in  drawing  up  the  Constitution  afterward  adopted. 
He  was  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Federal,  as  opposed  to  the  Democratic 
party;  and,  with  Jay  and  Madison,  defended  the  Constitution  against  all  at- 
tacks, by  a  series  of  letters  in  the  Daily  Advertiser,  of  New  York,  afterwards 
collected  and  published  under  the  title  of  "  The  Federalist. "  On  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  new  government  in  1789,  with  Washington  as  President,  Ham- 
ilton was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  In  1795,  he  resigned  his 
office,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  New  York.  When  the  war  with 
France  broke  out  in  1798,  he  was,  according  to  the  wish  of  Washington, 
made  Major-General  of  the  United  States  Army;  and,  on  the  death  of  Wash- 
ington, he  succeeded  to  the  chief  command.  When  peace  was  restored,  ho 
returned  to  hia  civil  duties,  but  became  involved  in  a  political  quarrel  with 
Aaron  Burr.  This  difference  unhappily  culminated  hi  a  duel,  in  which 
Hamilton  received  a  wound,  of  which  he  died  the  following  day  (July  12, 


JOHN  JACOB  ASTOB. 


'25 

John  Jacob  Astor. — This  enterprising  merchant,  founder  of  the 
American  Fur  Company,  was  born  in  a  village  near  Heidelberg,  in  Germany, 
1763.  After  spending  some  years  in  London,  he  sailed  to  America  in  1783, 
and  boon  invested  his  small  capital  in  furs.  By  economy  and  industry,  he 
so  increased  his  means  that  after  six  years  he  had  acquired  a  fortune  of 
$200,000.  Although  the  increasing  influence  of  the  English  fur  companies 
in  North  America  was  unfavorable  to  his  plans,  he  now  ventured  to  fit 
out  two  expeditions  to  the  Oregon  territory — one  by  land  and  one  by  sea 
— the  purpose  of  which  was  to  open  up  a  regular  commercial  inter- 
est with  the  natives.  After 
many  mishaps,  his  object 
was  achieved  in  1811,  and  the 
furtrading  station  of  Astoria 
was  established;  but  the  war  of 
1812  stopped  its  prosperity  for 
a  time.  From  this  period  As- 
tor's  commercial  connections 
extended  over  the  entire  globe, 
and  his  ships  were  found  in 
every  sea.  He  died  in  1848, 
leaving  property  amounting  to 
$30,000,000.  He  left  a  legacy 
of  $350,000  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  public  library  in 
New  York.  His  wealth  was 
mainly  inherited  by  his  son, 
William,  who  continued  to  aug- 
ment it  till  his  death  in  1875, 
when  he  is  said  to  have  left 
$50,000,000.  He  added  $200,- 
000  to  his  father's  bequest  for 
a  public  library.  He  was  known  T 
as  the  "  landlord  of  New  York  " 
from  the  extent  of  his  property 
in  that  city. 

Robert  Pulton The 

celebrated  American  engineer, 
Robert  Fulton,  was  born  at  Little  Britain,  Pennsylvania.  His  parents  be- 
longed to  Ireland,  whence  they  emigrated  to  America;  and  being  in  poor  cir- 
cumstances, all  the  education  young  Fulton  acquired  was  the  ability  to  read 
and  write.  When  he  was  old  enough,  his  mother  apprenticed  him  to  a  jew- 
eler in  Philadelphia.  In  addition  to  his  labors  at  this  trade,  he  devoted 
himself  to  painting;  and  the  sale  of  his  portraits  and  landscapes  enabled 
him,  in  the  space  of  four  years,  to  purchase  a  small  farm,  on  which  he 
placed  his  mother,  his  father  being  dead.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  London,  where  he  studied  painting  under  West;  but  after  several 
years  spent  thus,  he  abandoned  painting,  and  applied  himself  wholly  to 
mechanics.  In  1794,  he  obtained  from  the  British  government  a  patent  for 
an  inclined  plane,  the  object  of  which  was  to  set  aside  the  use  of  locks;  and 
in  the  same  year,  he  invented  a  mill  for  sawing  and  polishing  marble.  His 
next  invention  was  a  machine  for  spinning  flax,  followed  by  one  for  making 
ropes,  He  was  received  as  a  civil  engineer  in  1795;  and  wrote  a  work  en 


KOBEET  FULTON. 


26         CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

canals,  in  which  he  developed  his  system.  Accepting  an  invitation  from  the 
United  States  Minister  at  Paris,  ho  proceeded  to  that  city  in  1796,  and  re- 
mained there  for  seven  years,  devoting  himself  to  now  projects  and  inven- 
tions. Amongst  his  inventions  here  was  the  itautiltis  or  submarine  boat,  in- 
tended to  be  used  in  naval  warfare,  which  he  in  vain  sought  the  French 
government  to  accept;  nor  was  ho  more  successful  with  the  British  govern- 
ment, which  he  next  tried,  though  commissions  were  appointed  in  both 

cases  to  test  the  value  of 
his  invention.  Having 
failed  in  this  matter,  he 
next  turned  his  attention  to 
the  application  of  steam  to 
navigation.  In  1803,  he  con- 
structed a  small  steamboat, 
and  his  experiments  with  it  on 
the  Seme  were  attended  with 
great  success.  He  returned 
in  1806  to  New  York,  and  pur- 
sued his  experiments  there. 
He  perfected  his  Torpedo  sys- 
tem, which  was  afterwards  em- 
ployed effectively  in  the  war 
between  Britain  and  America. 
In  1807,  he  launched  a  steam- 
vessel  upon  the  Hudson,  which 
made  a  successful  start,  fn  the 
presence  of  thousands  of  as- 
tonished spectators.  From  this 
period,  steamers  (for  the  con- 
struction  of  which  Fulton  re- 
ceived  a  patent  from  the  Leg- 
islature) came  into  pretty  gen- 
eral use  upon  the  rivers  of  the 
United  States.  Although  Ful- 
ton was  not  the  first  to  apply 

ANDBEW  JACKSON.  ^^  fo  uayigatioll)  &s  &  steam 

vessel  had  been  tried  upon  the  Forth  and  Clyde  Canal  as  early  as  1789,  yet 
be  was  the  first  to  apply  it  with  any  degree  of  success.  He  died  in  1815. 

Andrew  Jackson. — This  famous  General  and  seventh  President  of  the 
United  States  was  born  at  Waxaw  settlement,  South  Carolina,  March  15, 
1767.  His  father,  who  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  emigrated  to  America  in 
1765,  and  soon  afterwards  died,  leaving  to  his  widow  a  half-cleared  farm  in 
a  new  settlement,  with  no  negroes  to  assist  in  its  cultivation.  When  Jackson 
grew  up,  he  was  sent  to  study  for  the  church,  but  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
American  Revolution,  he  and  his  brothers  were  summoned  to  the  field,  and 
the  elder  lost  his  life  at  Stono  Ferry.  Andrew,  though  but  thirteen  years 
old,  fought  with  his  remaining  brother  under  Sumter,  and  remained  with 
the  army  until  the  end  of  the  war.  In  1784  he  commenced  the  study  of  law, 
and  in  1787  was  appointed  solicitor  for  the  western  district  of  South  Caro- 
lina, now  the  State  of  Tennessee.  This  frontier  settlement  had  for  its  neigh- 
bors several  powerful  tribes  of  Indians,  against  whom  Jackson  fought  with 
euch  success  as  to  get  from  them  the  complimentary  titles  of  "  Share)  Knife  " 


27 


and  "Pointed  Arrow."  In  179G,  ho  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which 
modeled  the  Constitution  and  organized  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature  as  Representative,  and  then  as  Senator,  and  ap- 
pointed Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  (an  office  he  soon  resigned),  and  Major- 
General  of  the  State  Militia.  In  1813,  at  an  outbreak  of  hostilities  with  the 
Creek  Indians,  he  raised  a  volunteer  force  of  two  or  three  thousand  men, 
and  defeated  them.  When  destitute  of  supplies,  he  is  said  to  have  set  an 
example  of  endurance  by  feeding  on  hickory-nuts,  and  hence,  according  to 
some,  to  have  acquired  the 
popular  sobriquet  of  "  Old 
Hickory."  Jackson's  final  vic- 
tory (March  27,  1814)  at  the 
Horseshoe  peninsula,  in  the 
Tallahoosa,  completely  broke 
the  power  of  the  Indian  race 
in  North  America.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  skill  and  energy 
in  Indian  warfare,  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  Major-General  of  the 
Army  of  the  United  States;  and 
in  the  contemporaneous  war 
with  England  had  command 
of  the  forces  which  captured 
Pensacola,  and  defended  New 
Orleans  against  the  attack  of 
the  British  under  General 
Packenham,  December,  1814. 
After  Spain  had  ceded  Florida 
to  the  United  States,  he  was 
made  Governor  of  the  territory 
and  subsequently  was  chosen 
United  States  Senator  from 
Tennessee.  In  1824,  he  re- 
ceived the  highest  vote  of  four  ^ 
candidates  for  the  Presidency 

of  the  United  States,  but  by  HENTKY  CLAY. 

the  influence  of  Mr.  Clay,  John 

Quincy  Adams  was  elected  by  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  was,  how- 
ever, in  spite  of  bitter  and  violent  opposition,  elected  by  the  Democratic 
party  in  1828,  and  in  1832  re-elected  by  a  still  more  overwhelming  majority. 
His  administration  was  marked  by  singular  firmness.  He  vetoed  important 
measures  against  large  majorities,  and,  after  a  long  struggle,  destroyed  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  took  the  first  steps  towards  a  specie  currency 
and  independent  treasury.  He  died  at  his  farm  of  the  Hermitage,  near 
Nashville,  June  8,  1845. 

Henry  Clay. — The  famous  American  statesman,  Henry  Clay,  was  born 
April  12,  1777,  in  Hanover  County,  Virginia.  He  early  devoted  himself  to 
the  law,  and  fixing  his  residence  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  soon  obtained  a 
lucrative  practice  and  political  influence  enough  to  be  elected  to  the  State 
Legislature.  In  180G  ho  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  again  in  1809  he  was 
chosen  Senator  for  a  term  of  two  years.  In  1811  he  was  sent  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  where  he  was  immediately  elected  Speaker.  A  strong 


28        CYCLOPEDIA    6f    USfiPUL    KNoWLEkQ  K. 

advocs.te  of  nationality,  he  denounced  the  claims  put  forth  by  England  as  to 
right  of  search;  he  was  a  strenuous  supporter  of  the  war  with  that  country, 
and  in  consequence  was  sent,  in  1814,  as  one  of  the  commissioners  to  sign 
the  treaty  of  peace  at  Ghent,  where  his  acuteness  secured  for  America  many 
advantages.  On  his  return,  he  exerted  all  his  talents  in  favor  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  South  America,  and  labored  hard  to  eradicate  all  European  in- 
fluence from  the  American  continent.  Clay,  however,  is  best  known  as  the 
author  of  the  famous  "  Missouri  Compromise,"  restricting  slavery  to  the 

States  south  of  30°  30'  n.  lat.; 
and  also  for  the  compromise 
of  1850,  known  as  Clay's  "  Om- 
nibus "  measure.  He  died  in 
June,  1852.  He  was  very  pop- 
ular during  his  lifetime,  and 
was  two  or  three  times  pro- 
posed for  the  Presidency,  an 
honor,  however,  which  he 
never  succeeded  in  obtaining. 

Daniel  Webster.— The 

great  American  statesman  and 
jurist,  Daniel  Webster,  was 
born  at  Salisbury,  New  Hamp- 
shire, January  18,  1782,  and 
was  the  second  son  of  Eben- 
ezer  Webster,  a  small  farmer, 
and  Justice  of  the  County 
Court.  He  entered  Dartmouth 
College  in  1797,  and  taught 
school  in  winter  to  pay  his  ex- 
penses, and  aid  his  brother, 
Ezekiel,  who  became  a  dis- 
tinguished lawyer,  in  fitting 
for  college.  On  graduating  in 
1801,  he  commenced  to  study 
law,  but  was  induced,  by  the 
offer  of  a  salary  of  $350  a  year, 
to  become  preceptor  of  an  academy  at  Fryburg,  Maine,  paying  his  board  by 
copying  deeds.  In  1804,  he  went  to  Boston,  and  entered  the  law  office  of 
Mr.  Gore,  refusing  an  appointment  of  clerk  of  the  court  of  which  his  father 
was  a  judge,  at  $1,500  a  year.  In  1805,  having  been  admitted  to  the  Boston 
bar,  he  established  himself  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire;  married  in 
1808;  and  having  engaged  in  politics  as  a  member  of  the  Federalist  party, 
was  elected  to  Congress,  where  ho  immediately  took  rank  with  the  foremost 
men  of  the  country.  Hfe  speech  on  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees,  and  his 
mastery  of  the  question  of  currency  and  finance,  gave  him  a  high  position; 
but  he  determined,  in  1816,  to  remove  to  Boston,  where,  leaving  politics, 
he  engaged  for  several  years  in  legal  practice  of  the  most  extensive  and  va- 
ried character.  In  1822  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  Boston,  and  was 
distinguished  by  his  speeches  on  the  Holy  Alliance  and  the  Greek  Revolu- 
tion, and  his  labors  in  the  revision  of  the  criminal  laws  of  the  United  States. 
In  1826,  he  was  chosen  Senator;  and  in  1830,  he  rose  to  the  height  of  his  for- 
ensic renown  in  a  speech  of  two  days,  in  the  debate  with  Mr.  Hayne,  ef 


DAKIEL  'WEBSTER. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


29 


South  Carolina,  on  the  right  of  "  nullification."  Webster  and  Clay  were  the 
leaders  of  the  opposition  during  the  administrations  of  Jackson  and  Van 
Buren.  In  1839,  he  visited  England,  Scotland  and  France;  and  in  1841,  ac- 
cepted the  post  of  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Cabinet  of  General  Harrison,  and 
remained  in  that  of  Mr.  Tyler,  who,  as  Vice-President,  succeeded  on  the 
death  of  the  President,  until  1843.  In  1844,  he  aspired  to  the  Presidency, 
but  the  choice  of  his  party  fell 
upon  Mr.  Clay,  whom  he  sup- 
ported, butunsuccessfully.  He 
was  chosen  Senator  for  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  again  in  1848 
was  disappointed  of  the  Presi- 
dential nomination  by  the  pop- 
ular enthusiasm  for  General 
Taylar.  His  senatorial  efforts 
at  thia  period  were  directed 
to  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  by  the  advocacy  of  com- 
promises on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion, and  he  gave  offence  to 
the  Abolitionists  by  defending 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  In 
1850,  he  became  again  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  the  Cabinet  of 
Mr.  Fillmore;  and  in  1852  was 
once  more,  and  no  doubt  griev- 
ously, disappointed  at  not  re- 
ceiving the  nomination  to  the 
Presidency,  which  was  given 
to  General  Scott.  He  did  net 
live  to  see  the  defeat  of  his 
rival;  but  after  a  brief  illness, 
died  at  his  country  residence 
at  Marshfield,  Massachusetts, 
October  24,  1852. 

George  Peabody.— This 

name  deserves  to  be  held  in 
remembrance  on  account  of  his  munificent  philanthropy.  He  was  born  at 
Dauvers,  Massachusetts,  February  18, 1795.  His  parents  were  poor,  and  his 
only  education  was  received  at  the  district  school.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he 
was  placed  with  a  grocer,  and  at  fifteen  in  a  haberdasher's  shop  in  Newbury- 
port.  When  twenty-two  years  old,  he  was  a  partner  with  Elisha  Riggs  in 
Baltimore.  In  1827  he  first  visited  England,  where  he  settled  permanently 
ten  years  later.  Withdrawing  from  the  Baltimore  firm  in  1843,  ho  established 
himself  in  London  as  a  merchant  and  money-broker,  and  accumulated  a 
large  fortune.  As  one  of  three  commissioners  appointed  iii  1848  by  the  State 
of  Maryland  to  obtain  the  restoration  of  its  credit,  he  refused  all  payment, 
and  received  a  special  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Legislature  of  that  State.  In 
1851  he  supplied  the  sum  required  to  fit  up'  the  American  Department  at  the 
great  exhibition.  In  the  following  year  he  sent  a  large  donation,  afterwards 
increased  to  $270,000,  to  found  an  Educational  Institute,  etc.,  in  his  native 
town  of  Danvers  (which  is  now  called  Peabody).  He  contributed  $10,000  to 


GEOEGE  PEABODY. 


CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


the  first  Grinnell  Arctic  Expedition;  $1,400,000  to  the  city  of  Baltimore  for  an 
Institute  of  Science,  Literature  and  the  Fine  Arts;  $8,000,000  for  the  promo- 
tion of  education,  endowment  of  libraries,  etc.,  in  the  United  States.  From 
1862  to  1868,  ho  gave  $1,750,000  for  the  benefit  of  the  London  poor,  and  in 
his  will  he  left  $750,000  for  the  same  purpose.  This  vast  sum  has  been  em- 
ployed in  building  dwellings  for  the  working-classes.  He  died  in  Londo* 
in  1869. 

Edward  Everett. — This  distinguished  American  was  born  in  1794,  at 
Dorchester,  near  Boston,  Massachusetts,  entered  Harvard  College  iii  1807, 

and  took  his  degree  in  1811. 
He  was  for  some  time  a  Uni- 
tarian clergyman  in  the  town 
of  Cambridge,  and  in  this  ca- 
pacity had  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
and  pathetic  preachers  in  the 
United  States.  In  1815,  he  was 
elected  Professor  of  the  Greek 
Language  and  Literature  in 
Harvard  College;  and  to  qual- 
ify himself  more  thoroughly 
for  his  work,  he  visited  Eu- 
rope, where  he  resided  for 
four  years,  and  had  a  distin- 
guished circle  of  acquaintance 
— including  Scott,  Byron,  Jef- 
frey, Romilly,  Davy,  etc.  M. 
Cousin,  the  French  philoso- 
pher and  translator  of  Plato, 
pronounced  him  "  one  of  the 
best  Grecians  he  ever  knew." 
In  1820,  Everett  became  editor 
of  The  North  American  lie- 
view;  and  in  1824,  a  Member 
of  the  United  States  Congress, 
sitting  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives for  ten  years.  In  1835,  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Massachu- 
setts; and  in  1841,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of  St.  James.  Whilft 
in  England,  ho  received  from  the  universities  of  Oxford,  Cambridge,  and 
Dublin  the  degree  of  D.  C.  L.  On  his  return  to  America  in  1845,  he  was 
elected  President  of  Harvard  College;  on  the  decease  of  Daniel  Webster,  he 
became  Secretary  of  State;  and  in  1853,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
chose  him  as  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  He  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1865.  Mr.  Everett's  principal  works  are:  "  A  Defence  of  Christianity  " 
(1814);  "Orations  and  Speeches  on  Various  Occasions  from  1825  to  1836" 
(1836);  and  "Orations  and  Speeches  on  Various  Occasions  from  1825  to 
1850."  This  includes  all  the  previous  orations.  These  "  Orations,"  as  they 
are  called,  are  upon  all  subjects,  and  indicate  a  varied,  vigorous,  and  flexi- 
ble genius. 

James  Fenimore  Cooper. — The  celebrated  novelist,  James  Fenimora 
Cooper,  was  born  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  September  15,  1789.     Having 


EDWAHD  EVERETT. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


31 


received  his  early  education  from  a  private  tutor,  he,  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
passed  to  Yale  Colloge,  and  after  three  years'  study  there,  entered  the 
American  navy  as  a  midshipman.  He  remained  six  years  at  sea,  gathering 
the  experience  of  which  he  was  afterwards  to  make  such  good  use  in  his 
novels.  On  his  retirement  from  the  sea  in  1811,  ho  married;  and  the  next 
ten  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  a  quiet,  domestic  fashion.  In  1821  ap- 
peared his  first  work,  "Precaution,"  a  novel  that  afforded  no  indication 
whatever  of  the  talent  he  siibsequeutly  exhibited.  In  the  following  year, 
however,  he  published  "  The 
Spy,"  a  tale  which  at  once 
secured  for  him  a  place  in  the 
first  rank  of  novelists.  By 
not  a  few  critics  he  was  even 
elevated  to  a  higher  pedestal 
than  that  which  Scott  occu- 
pied; but  time  sobered  their 
judgment,  while  it  still  left 
him  a  deservedly  high  posi- 
tion as  a  writer  of  fiction.  In 
quick  succession  followed 
"  The  Pioneers,"  "  The  Pilot," 
"  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans," 
"  The  Bed  Hover,"  and  "  The 
Prairie,"  with  which  Cooper's 
genius  culminated;  for  though 
between  this  date  (1827)  and 
1850  he  wrote  about  twenty- 
six  different  works,  none  of 
them  equalled  in  merit  those 
we  have  mentioned.  The  se- 
cret of  Cooper's  success  as  a 
novelist  lies  in  his  graphic 
descriptive  powers,  and  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  the 
matters  he  describes,  whether 
it  be  the  boundless  ocean  or 
the  broad  prairie,  together  with  an  attentive  study  of  character.  Not  a  lit- 
tle of  his  popularity  in  America,  however,  must  be  attributed  to  bjs  nation- 
ality; and  in  Europe  a  good  deal  of  it  was  owing  to  the  freshness  of  the 
scenes  in  which  his  stories  were  laid.  About  1827,  Cooper  visited  Europe, 
where  he  remained  several  years;  the  fruits  of  his  sojourn,  besides  novels, 
being  some  ten  volumes  of  sketches  of  European  society.  Many  of  his  works 
have  been  translated  into  most  modern  languages,  and  one  — "  The  Spy  "- 
can  be  read  in  Persian.  He  died  at  Cooperstown,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
September  4,  1851. 

Washington  Irving'. — This  distinguished  American  author  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  April  3, 1783.  At  the  ago  of  sixteen  he  entered  a 
law  office;  but  ho  profited  largely  by  his  father's  well-stocked  library,  Chau- 
cer and  Spenser  being  his  favorite  authors.  New  York,  at  this  period,  was 
a  small  town  of  about  50,000  inhabitants,  mauy  of  whom  were  descendants  of 
the  original  Dutch  settlers,  having  quaint  manners  and  customs,  of  which 
Irving  was  a  curious  observer.  In  1807,  he  contributed  a  series  of  genial  and 


JAMES  FENTMOEE  COOPEE. 


82         CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

humorous  essays  to  a  periodical  called  Salmagundi.  In  1809,  ho  wrote  "  A 
History  of  New  York,  from  the  Beginning  of  the  World  to  the  End  of  the 
Dutch  Dynasty,  by  Diedrick  Knickerbocker. "  Having  no  inclination  for  law, 
he  engaged  in  commerce  with  his  brothers  as  a  silent  partner,  but  devoted 
his  time  to  literature,  and  in  1813  edited  the  Analectic  Magazine,  in  Phila- 
delphia. At  the  close  of  the  war  in  1815,  he  visited  England.  While  he  was 
enjoying  his  English  visit,  his  commercial  house  failed,  and  he  was  suddenly 
reduced  to  poverty,  and  the  necessity  of  writing  for  his  bread.  The  "  Sketch 

Book,"  which  soon  after  ap- 
peared, was  received  with 
great  favor.  Irving  went  to 
Paris,  and  in  1822  wrote 
"  Bracebridge  Hall,"  and  in 
1824  the  "  Tales  of  a  Traveler." 
He  was  then  invited  by  Ever- 
ett, the  American  ambassador 
to  Spain,  to  accompany  him  to 
Madrid  to  translate  document* 
connected  with  the  life  of  Co- 
lumbus. With  these  materials 
he  wrote  his  "History  of  the 
Life  and  Voyages  of  Colum- 
bus "  (1828);  "Voyages  of 
the  Companions  of  Columbus;" 
"  The  Conquest  of  Granada;" 
"The  Alhambra"  (1832),  a 
portion  of  which  was  written 
in  the  ancient  palace  of  the 
Moorish  kings;  "  Legends  of 
the  Conquest  of  Spain  "  (1835); 
and  "  Mahomet  and  his  Suc- 
_  cessors"  (1849).  In  1829,  he 

•WASHINGTON  IKYING.  returned  to  England  as  Sec- 

retary to  the  American  Lega- 
tion. In  1831,  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  the  univer- 
sity of  Oxford;  and  next  year  returned  to  America,  where  he  was  welcomed 
with  great  enthusiasm.  A  visit  to  the  Kocky  Mountains  produced  his  "  Tour 
on  the  Prairies."  He  also  contributed  sketches  of  Abbotsford  and  Newstead 
Abbey  to  the  "  Crayon  Miscellany,"  and  from  the  papers  of  John  Jacob  Astor, 
wrote  "  Astoria  "  (1837),  and  the  "  Adventures  of  Captain  Bonneville;"  also 
a  series  of  stories  and  essays  in  the  Knickerbocker  Magazine,  collected  under 
the  title  of  "  Wolfert's  Boost."  In  1842,  he  was  appointed  Minister  to  Spain. 
In  1846  was  published  his  "Life  of  Goldsmith;"  and  his  great  work,  the 
"  Life  of  Washington,"  was  published  in  1855 — 1859.  He  spent  the  last  years 
of  his  life  at  Sunnyside,  in  his  own  "Sleepy  Hollow,"  on  the  banks  of  tli8 
Hudson,  near  Tarrytown,  with  his  nieces,  where  he  died  suddenly  of  disease 
of  the  heart,  November  28,  1859.  Ho  was  never  married. 

Abraham  Lincoln.— The  sixteenth  President  of  the  United  States, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  February  12,  1809.  His  grand- 
father was  an  emigrant  from  Virginia;  his  father,  a  poor  farmer,  who,  in 
1806,  removed  from  Kentucky  to  Indiana.  In  the  rude  life  of  the  back- 
woods, Lincoln's  entire  schooling  did  not  exceed  one  year,  and  ho  waa  »m- 


83 

ployed  in  tho  severest  agricultural  labor.  He  lived  with  his  family  in  Spen- 
cer County,  Indiana,  till  1830,  when  he  removed  to  Illinois,  where,  with  an- 
other man,  he  performed  the  feat  of  splitting  3,000  rails  in  a  day,  which  gave 
him  the  popular  sobriquet  of  "  tho  Railsplitter."  In  1834,  he  was  elected  to 
the  Illinois  Legislature.  At  this  period,  ho  lived  by  surveying  land,  wore 
patched  homespun  clothes,  and  spent  his  leisure  hours  in  studying  law.  Ho 
was  three  times  re-elected  to  the  Legislature;  was  admitted  to  practice  law 
in  1836;  and  removed  to  Springfield,  the  State  capital.  In  1844,  he  canvassed 
the  State  for  Mr.  Clay,  then  nomi- 
nated for  President.  Mr.  Clay 
was  defeated,  but  tho  popularity 
gamed  by.Lincoln  in  the  canvass 
secured' his  own  election  to  Con- 
gress in  184G,  where  he  voted 
against  the  extension  of  slavery; 
and  in  1854  was  a  recognized 
leader  in  the  newly-formed  Re- 
publican party.  In  1855,  he  can- 
vassed the  State  as  a  candidate  for 
United  States  Senator,  against  Mr. 
Douglas,  but  without  success. 
In  1856,  ho  was  an  active  sup- 
porter of  Mr.  Fremont  in  the  Pres- 
idential canvass  which  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Mr.  Buchanan. 
In  1860,  he  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  by  the  Chicago  Con- 
vention. The  non-extension  of 
slavery  to  the  Territories  or  new  | 
States  to  be  formed  from  them,  1 


was  tho  most  important  principle 

of  his  party.    There  were  three 

other  candidates,  but  Mr.  Lincoln 

received  a  majority  of  votes  over 

any  of  the  other  candidates.    He  ABBAHAM  LINCOLN. 

was  inaugurated  March  4, 1861.    His  election  by  a  sectional  vote  and  on  a 

sectional  issue  hostile  to  the  Soiith,  was  followed  by  the  secession  of  eleven 

Southern  States,  and  a  war  for  the  restoration  of  the  union.    As  a  military 

measure,  he  proclaimed,  January  1,  1863,  the  freedom  of  all  slaves  in  the 

rebel  States;  and  was  re-elected  to  the  Presidency  in  1864.    The  war  was 

brought  to  a  close,  April  2,  1865;  and  on  the  15th  of  the  same  month  Lincoln 

was  cut  off  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.    He  was  characterized  by  a  strong 

sense  of  duty  and  great  firmness. 

Horace  Gr  eeley. — The  great  American  journalist,  Horace  Greeley,  was 
born  at  Amherst,  New  Hampshire,  February  3,  1811.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  of  small  means;  and  Horace,  after  acquiring  the  rudiments  of  educa- 
tion at  a  common  school,  entered  a  printing  office  as  an  apprentice  in  1825, 
at  Putney,  Vermont.  On  the  completion  of  his  apprenticeship,  he  removed 
to  New  York  City  and  worked  for  some  time  as  a  journeyman  printer,  and  hi 
1834  commenced  the  publication  of  the  New  Yorker,  a  literary  weekly  paper, 
for  which  ho  wrote  essays,  poetry,  and  other  articles.  After  one  or  two 
Other  essays  at  editorship,  he  began  in  1841  the  New  York  Tribune^  of  which 


QYVLOT-'JRDIA    OF    USL'FUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


be  was  the  leading  editor  until  a  short  time  previous  to  his  death.  As  Mr. 
Greeley  had  adopted,  to  some  extent,  the  social  theories  of  Fourier,  he  was 
joined  by  the  most  able  writers  of  that  school  of  Socialism,  and  the  paper 
was  published  as  a  joint-stock  concern,  being  held  in  shares  by  its  writers 
and  others  engaged  in  its  publication.  The  Tri'ntne  has  been  an  earnest  ad- 
vocate of  temperance,  woman's  rights,  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  capital 
punishment,  and  other  reforms,  and  is  recognized  as  the  organ  of  the  Re- 
publican  party.  In  1848,  Mr.  Greeley  was  elected  to  Congress  from  one  of 

the  districts  of  New  York, 
for  the  short  term,  but 
failed  in  his  congressional 
career  by  agitating  an  un- 
welcome reform  in  the  mile- 
age payments  to  members. 
In  1851  he  visited  Europe, 
and  was  chairman  of  one 
of  the  committees  cf  the 
great  exhibition.  His  as- 
pirations to  political  posi- 
tion were  defeated  by  the 
more  conservative  party 
loaders,  and  he,  in  turn,  is 
supposed  to  have  secured 
the  election  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, instead  of  Mr.  Seward, 
in  1860.  On  the  secession 
of  the  Southern  States  from 
the  Union,  Mr.  Greeley  at 
first  advocated  their  right 
to  secede,  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence; but  when  the  war  be- 
gan, he  became  one  of  its 
most  zealous  advocates, 

HOKACE  GKEELEY.  and  is  supposed  to  have 

caused  the  premature  ad- 
vance that  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  Bull's  Run,  July  21,  1861.  In  1872,  ho 
was  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  being  nominated  by  the  "  Liberal  "  Re- 
publican party  of  that  period,  and  endorsed  by  the  Democratic  party,  but 
was  defeated  by  his  opponent,  General  Grant.  He  died  the  same  year.  He 
is  the  author  of  "  The  American  Conflict,"  "Essays  on  Political  Economy," 
"  Recollections  of  a  Busy  Life,"  "  What  I  Know  About  Farming,"  and  ether 
popular  works. 

Thurlow  Weed. — From  the  most  humble  origin  Thurlow  "Weed  rose 
by  slow  degrees  until  he  became  one  of  the  leading  journalists  of  the  United 
States  and  the  greatest  political  leader  of  his  time.  He  was  born  at  Cairo, 
Greene  County,  New  York,  November  15,  1797.  His  parents  were  poor, 
and  his  opportunities  of  procuring  an  education  very  limited.  At  the  age  of 
ten  years  he  was  cabin-boy  on  a  sloop  on  the  Hudson  River;  at  twelve  he 
•was  an  apprentice  in  the  printing  office  of  Mr.  Croswcll,  at  Catskiil;  ho  then 
lired  for  a  short  time  in  a  backwoods  settlement,  but  at  fourteen  returned. 


B10G21AP2/J. 


3,') 


to  printing.  In  early  lifo  ho  was  singularly  uncouth  and  awkward  in  ap- 
pearance, so  much  so  that  ho  frequently  excited  the  ridicule  of  his  associ- 
ates. When  the  war  of  1812  began,  young  Weed  volunteered  into  the  Amer- 
ican army.  At  his  majority  ho  owned  a  newspaper.  In  1826  and  1827  ho 
was  cngagod  in  editing  the  Anti-Masonic  Enquirer.  Twice  elected  to  the 
Assembly  of  the  Empire  State,  ho  never  afterwards  accepted  a  political  po- 
sition, however  important, 
honorable  or  remunerative. 
Mr.  Weed  was  a  clever  party 
manager,  and  is  given  a  largo 
share  of  the  credit  due  to  the 
men  who  secured  the  election 
of  Do  Witt  Clinton  as  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York.  In  1830 
he  settled  at  Albany,  and  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the 
Evening  Journal,  an  an ti- Jack- 
son, Whig,  or  Republican  pa- 
per, which  became  the  organ 
of  the  party,  and  of  the  State 
government  when  its  party 
was  in  power.  Ho  is  sup- 
posed to  have  exercised  al- 
most supremo  influence  in 
nominations  and  appoint- 
ments, and  to  have  secured 
the  choice  of  Presidents  Har- 
rison and  Taylor.  Through- 
out his  whole  career  he  was 
the  friend  and  adviser  of  Mr. 
Seward,  and  ho  was  also  a 
member  of  the  famous  polit- 
ical firm  of  Seward,  Weed  & 
Greeley.  When  Mr.  Weed 
visited  Europe  in  1861,  he  was 
received  with  marked  distinc- 
tion, due  to  a  prominent  jour- 
nalist, politician  and  diplo- 
matist. Ho  retired  from  the 
Albany  Evening  Journal  in  1862,  but  so  lately  as  1880  contributed  to  its  col- 
umns in  the  shape  of  an  article  recording  his  half  a  century's  connection 
with  public  life.  Ho  was  connected  both  with  the  New  York  Times  and  the 
Commercial  Advertiser  in  tho  later  years  of  his  career.  Mr.  Weed  was  the 
author  of  a  volume  of  letters  addressed  from  Europe  and  the  West  Indies, 
and  of  an  interesting  and  valuable  book  on  his  personal  reminiscences.  He 
died  in  New  York  City  in  the  year  1882. 

Wendell  PMllips — The  great  Anti-Slavery  agitator,  Wendell  Phil- 
lips, was  born  in  Boston,  November  29,  1811,  and  was  the  son  of  the  first 
Mayor  of  that  city.  He  was  educated  at  Harvard,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  the  year  1831.  He  studied  law  at  the  Cambridge  Law  School,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in -1834,  one  year  after  his  graduation  there.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  until  1839,  when  he  retired  in  consequence  of  his.  uuwiU- 


THUELOW  WEED. 


36 


CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


ingness  to  bo  bound  by  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Constitution,  as  at  that  time 
construed  by  the  supremo  court.  At  a  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston, 
in  December,  1837,  in  an  impromptu  speech  of  great  eloquence,  he  made  his 
first  public  appearance  as  a  reformer,  and  from  that  time  he  became  known 
to  the  public  as  a  prominent  agitator  in  the  Anti-Slavery,  Temperance,  and 

Woman's  Eights  reforms. 
During  the  early  stage  of 
the  civil  war,  he  advocated 
the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  in  a  wonderfully  ener- 
getic and  eloquent  man- 
ner, and  after  this  reform 
was  accomplished  continued 
a  member  of  the  Anii-Slavery 
Society,  which  was  not  dis- 
solved until  1870.  Mr.  Phil- 
lips had  been  its  President 
continuously  as  the  immedi- 
ate successor  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison.  In  1870  he 
was  the  candidate  of  the  "  La- 
bor-Reform "  party  for  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts.  He 
strenuously  opposed  the  pol- 
icy of  President  Hayes  to- 
wards the  Southern  States, 
and  his  views  on  the  Irish 
and  other  political  and  social 
questions  are  well  known.  He 
published  many  pamphlets 
upon  the  subjects  which  so 
engrossed  his  thoughts.  In 
1863  was  published  an  edi- 
tion of  his  speeches,  lectures 
and  letters.  For  finished  and 
impressive  address,  elegance  and  grace  of  delivery,  he  was  incomparable 
among  the  orators  of  his  time.  He  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years. 

Henry  Ward  Bceclier. — No  man  in  the  United  States  has  been  writ- 
ten about  more  than  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  but  the  main  facts  of  his  life  are 
told  in  a  few  words.  He  is  a  native  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  where  he  was 
born  on  the  24th  of  June,  1813.  His  father  was  the  sturdy  Rev.  Dr.  Lyman 
Boecher,  who  rose  from  the  anvil  to  bo  the  leader  of  orthodoxy  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  future  pastor  of  Plymouth  Church  was  graduated  at  Amherst  in 
1834.  He  studied  theology  at  Lane  Seminary,  and  in  1837  became  pastor  of 
a  church  at  Lawrenceburg.  In  1839  he  accepted  a  call  to  Indianapolis, 
where  he  remained  eight  years,  after  which  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn, 
became  the  scene  of  his  distinguished  efforts  as  a  preacher.  Before  the  war 
Mr.  Beecher  was  long  distinguished  among  the  opponents  of  slavery.  Dur- 
ing ita  progress  he  visited  Great  Britain  as  a  representative  of  the  Union 
cause,  where  his  eloquence  assisted  the  efforts  of  the  journalists,  religious 
other  persons  who  took  the  same  view  of  the  struggle  as  he 


BIOGRAPHY. 


did.  Jealousy  of  the  rapid  prosperity  of  this  country,  the  dislike  of  British 
manufacturers  to  our  protective  system,  their  business  relations  with  the 
planters  of  the  South,  the  interests  of  the  aristocracy,  who  foresaw  mischief 
to  their  privileges  in  the  success  of  popular  government,  and,  on  the  part  of 
many  who  were  disposed  to  side  with  the  Union,  their  non-apprehension  of 
the  reason  which  delayed  the  abolition  of  slavery,  may  be  mentioned  as 
among  the  causes  which  led  to  an  unfriendly  attitude  of  Great  Britain  towards 
the  Northern  cause  at  tho 
time  of  the  war,  when,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  non- 
conformist and  radical  sec- 
tion of  its  people  favored  it. 
Mr.  Beecher  met  with  oppo- 
sition in  his  mission,  and 
with  great  kindness  as  well. 
His  oratorical  gifts  were  at 
their  best,  and  ho  returned 
after  a  campaign  which  did 
great  credit  to  his  abilities 
and  proved  of  much  value 
to  the  cause  he  promoted. 
As  a  preacher  and  lecturer 
the  sxibject  of  this  sketch 
takes  the  highest  rank,  and 
as  a  writer  enjoys  distinc- 
tion. His  versatility  is 
wonderful,  his  liberality  of 
thought  and  sentiments  not 
less  extraordinary.  His  per- 
sonal appearance  and  the 
peculiar  fascination  of  his 
address,  whether  in  private 
or  public,  are  so  well  known 
that  nothing  need  to  be  said 
of  them  here.  While  opin- 
ion is  divided  as  to  the  effect 
of  his  life  and  teaching,  critics,  both  friendly  and  unfriendly,  are  at  one  in  re- 
garding Beecher  as  a  great  man. 

Charles  Sumner — This  famous  American  statesman  was  born  at 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  January  6,  1811.  IJis  father  was  a  lawyer,  and  for 
many  years  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  was  educated  at  Harvard  College, 
where  he  graduated  in  1830;  studied  law  at  the  Cambridge  Law  School;  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1834,  and  entered  upon  a  large  practice;  edited  the 
American  Jui~ist;  published  three  volumes  of  Sumner's  "  Reports  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States;"  gave  lectures  at  the  Law  School,  but 
declined  a  proffered  professorship;  and  from  1837  to  1840,  visited  England 
and  the  continent  of  Europe.  On  his  return,  he  edited  Vesey's  "  Reports," 
in  twenty  volumes,  and  in  1845,  rnado  his  debut  in  politics  in  a  4th  of  July 
oration  on  the  "  True  Grandeur  of  Nations  " — an  oration  directed  against 
the  war  with  Mexico,  pronounced  by  Mr.  Cobcteu  the  noblest  contribution  by 
any  modern  writer  to  the  cause  of  peace.  Identifying  himself  with  the  Free- 
soil  party,  he  was,  in  1850,  chosen  United  States  Senator  from  Massachusetts, 


HENKY  WABD  BEECIIER. 


88         CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

in  place  of  Daniel  Webster,  where  be  opposed  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  and  de- 
clared "  freedom  national — slavery  sectional."  In  1856,  he  made  a  two  days' 
speech  on  "The  Crime  Against  Kansas,"  some  of  which  was  of  a  violent 
personal  character,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  attacked  in  the  Senate 
Chamber,  May  22d,  and  severely  beaten  by  Preston  C.  Brooks,  and  so 
severely  injured  that  his  labors  were  suspended  three  c*  four  years,  during 
which  he  visited  Europe  for  repose  and  health.  Returning  to  the  Senate, 
he  supported  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  urged  upon  him  the  Proclamation 

of  Emancipation,  and  became 
the  leader  of  the  Senate,  as 
chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations.  In  1862 
he  was  again  elected  a  Sena- 
tor, and  re-elected  in  1869. 
In  1871  he  opposed  the  annex- 
ation of  Hayti  to  the  United 
States.  He  published ' '  White 
Slavery  in  the  Bar  bar  y 
States"  (1853),  "  Orations  and 
Speeches"  (1850),  etc.  He 
died  hi  1874. 

Charles  Dickens.— The 

great  English  novelist  and 
humorist,  Charles  Dickens, 
was  born  at  Landport,  in 
Hampshire,  in  February, 
1812.  His  father,  Mr.  John 
Dickens,  was  employed  for 
some  years  in  the  Navy 
Pay  Department,  but  at  tho 
conclusion  of  the  war  with 

CHAELES  DICKENS.  prance    ^    peD8ioned,    and 

became  a  parliamentary  reporter.  In  this  pursuit  his  son  was  soon  dis- 
tinguished for  uncommon  ability,  and  after  a  literary  engagement,  at  a  very 
early  age,  tipon  The  True  Sun,  he  became  connected  with  The  Morning 
Chronicle.  In  this  newspaper  he  gave  the  first  evidence  of  his  talents  in  the 
lively  essays  entitled  "  Sketches  by  Boz,"  published  in  1836.  Encouraged 
by  their  success  he  next  produced  the  famous  "  Pickwick  Papers,"  which 
had  an  enormous  commercial  success  and  began  an  era  in  English  literature, 
being  the  first  of  a  series  of  fictitious  works  exhibiting  the  life  and  manners 
of  the  middle  and  lower  classes,  which  up  to  that  time  had  had  scarcely  any 
exponent.  Mr.  Dickens's  fame  was  now  thoroughly  established  upon  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  each  new  work  as  it  emanated  from  his  pen  was 
read  with  eager  interest.  In  due  season  appeared  "  Nicholas  Nickleby," 
"  Hard  Times,"  "  The  Old  Curiosity  Shop,"  "  Barnaby  Rudge,"  "  A  Tale  of 
Two  Cities,"  "David  Copperfield,"  "Martin Chuzzlewit,"  "American  Notes," 
"  Dombey  and  Son,"  "  Bleak  House,"  "  Little  Dorrit,"  "  Great  Expecta- 
tions," "Oliver  Twist,"  "Christmas  Stories,"  and  "Our  Mutual  Friend." 
At  the  time  of  his  death,  June  9, 1870,  he  was  engaged  upon  a  novel  entitled 
"  The  Mystery  of  Edwin  Drood,"  which  was  left  unfinished.  Mr.  Dickens 
Tisited  America  in  1842  and  again  in  1867,  giving  numerous  readings  and 
meeting  with  a  brilliant  reception. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


William  Cullen  Bryant.— This  famous  poet  and  journalist  was  born 
in  Curamington,  Hampshire  County,  Massachusetts,  on  November  3,  1794. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  physician,  a  gentleman  of  culture,  who  took  great  pride 
in  his  promising  son,  whose  poetic  talents  wore  early  made  manifest.    At  tho 
curly  age  of  ten  he  made 
translations  from  some  of 
the  Latin  poets  and  con- 
tributed rhymes  to  the  lo- 
cal  newspapers.     When 
scarcely  thirteen  years 
of  age  ho  wrote  a  terse 
and     vigorous     political 
poem  entitled  "  The  Em- 
bargo."   At  eighteen  he 
composed  his  "Thanatop- 
sie,"  a  poem  full  oi  beauty 
and  usually  regarded  as 
the  greatest  literary  pro- 
duction of  his  life.  In  1810 
Mr.  Bryant  entered  Wil- 
liams' College,  and  choos- 
ing the  la  w  as  aprofession, 
was  admitted  to  the  Bar 
five  years  later.    He  prac- 
ticed for  ten  years   with 
diligence     and    success, 
first  at  Plainfield  and  af- 
terward at  Great  B&rring- 
tou,  but  his  tastes  inclined 
toliteraturc,andin!825he 
went  to  New  York,  where 
he  became  associated  with 
Eichard  H.  Dana  as  edi- 
tor of  the  Ntw  York  He- 
view.    In  1826  ho  became 
principal    editor    of    The 
Evening  Post,  one  of  the 
leading  evening  papers  of  the  metropolis,  which  he  conducted  with  rare 
ability.    The  first  collected  edition  of  his  poems  appeared  in  1832.    They 
were  soon  after  republished  in  Great  Britain,  and  were  regarded  as  the 
highest  efforts,  up  to  that  time,  of  the  American  Muse.    In  1842  he  published 
"  The  Fountain,  and  other  Poems."    Mr.  Bryant  visited  Europe  in  183-i,  and 
several  times  afterwards,  and  records  his  observations  in  "Letters  of  a 
Traveler  in  Europe  and  America."    In  1858  appeared  a  new  edition  of  his 
poetical  works,  and  in  18G9,  a  metrical  translation  of  the  "  Iliad,"  followed 
in  1871  by  that  of  "  Odyssey."    He  afterwards  engaged  in  writing  a  "  History 
of  the  United  States.""  He  died  June  12,  1878. 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow.— The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
the  most  popular  of  American  poets.  Mr.  Longfellow  was  bom  at  Portland, 
Maine,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1807.  His  father  was  an  attorney  at  law.  In 
1821  he  entered  Bowdoin  College,  and  was  graduated  therein  four  years 
later.  He  then  read  law  a  few  months  in  his  father's  office,  a  pursuit  which, 


•WILLIAM  CULLEN  BKYANT. 


40       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VStifut 


Happily,  he  did  not  continue,  friends  who  knew  his  genius,  by  acquaintancQ 
with  his  college  life,  providing  him  the  opportunity  of  an  occupation  more 
congenial.  They  offered  him  the  position  of  Professor  of  Modern  Languages 
at  Bowdoin,  one  entirely  proper  to  his  bent.  To  qualify  himself  the  better 
for  its  duties,  Mr.  Longfellow  spent  the  three  years  and  a  half  immediately 
Succeeding  his  acceptance  of  the  offer,  in  Europe,  visiting  France,  Spain,  Italy, 
Germany,  Holland  and  England  for  this  purpose.  He  came  home  in  1829, 

and  began  his  professorship 
at  Bowdoin,  which  continued 
until  1835,  when  the  death 
of  Mr.  George  Ticknor,  who 
held  the  corresponding  po- 
sition hi  Harvard  University, 
resulted  in  his  acceptance 
of  the  vacant  professorship 
in  that  eminent  seat  of  learn- 
ing. Before  actually  enter- 
ing upon  its  duties,  he  again 
went  to  Europe,  this  time 
visiting  the  Scandinavian 
countries,  Germany  and 
Switzerland,  mainly  with  the 
view  of  promoting  his  ac- 
quaintance with  the  litera- 
ture of  Northern  Europe. 
In  the  autumn  of  1836,  he 
began  to  teach  in  Harvard, 
and  continued  there  eigh- 
teen years,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  James  Eussell 
Lowell.  Mr.  Longfellow's 
career  as  an  author  dated 
f r  o  m  his  undergraduate 
days,  during  which  ho  con- 
tributed poetry  to  the  col- 
umns of  The  United  States 
Literary  Gazette.  While  at 
Bowdoin  some  able  pieces  of  literary  criticism,  the  products  of  his  fertile 
pen,  were  printed  in  The  North  American  Review.  His  first  volume  of 
poems  was  published  in  1833,  and  thereafter,  at  not  infrequent  intervals,  a 
new  volume  appeared,  always  welcomed  with  pleasure  by  a  large  constitu- 
ency of  admiring,  loving  readers.  There  is  no  occasion  whatever  to  detail 
the  numerous  productions  of  his  pen.  Perhaps  "  Evangeline  "  and  "  Miles 
Standish  "  are  the  beet  known  of  his  longer  pieces.  In  the  writer's  opinion, 
his  most  effective  work  is  seen  in  some  of  his  lyrics,  which  are  perfect  in 
their  construction  and  pervaded  with  sweetness,  pensive  tenderness  and 
humanity.  They  are  carried  in  the  memory  of  thousands  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  are  gems  which  permanently  enrich  the  literature  of  na- 
tions. Mr.  Longfellow's  poetry  is  not  characterized  by  strength  or  great- 
ness, but  by  gentleness,  sweetness  and  refinement,  the  product  of  vast  labor, 
but  free  from  pedantry  and  affectation.  He  gave  eloquent  and  simple  voice 
to  the  convictions  and  emotions  of  good,  every-day  kind  of  people.  He  died 
March  24, 1882. 


HENRY  •WADSWOBTH  LONGFELLOW. 


41 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.— The  famous  "  sago  of  Concord  "  was  the 
son  of  a  Unitarian  minister.  He  was  born  in  Bodton,  May  25,  1803.  During 
the  four  years  from  1817  to  1821,  he  studied  at  Harvard  College,  where  ho 
was  graduated.  It  is  told  of  him  that  he  was  not  a  model  student,  in  the 
sense  of  superiority  in  the  matter  of  performing  set  work,  but  he  was  a  great 
reader  and  followed  a  decided  personal  judgment  in  his  choice  of  books. 
Like  many  other  great  men,  he  started  life  as  a  teacher,  which  he  did  not 
follow  long,  but  relinquished  for  the  study  of  theology — an  ancestral  pur- 
suit, by  the  way,  for  it  is 
recorded  that  there  was  al- 
ways a  clergyman  in  the 
American  branch  of  the 
family  from  the  time  when 
Concord  was  founded,  back 
in  the  seventeenth  century. 
For  three  years,  from  1829 
to  1832,  he  ministered 
thought  to  a  congregation  in 
Boston,  but  resigned  when 
his  people  and  he  had  grown 
hopelessly  at  variance  in 
their  conceptions  of  religion. 
Retiring  to  Concord,  where 
he  lived  to  the  end,  Mr. 
Emerson  devoted  himself  to 
a  life  of  letters,  producing  a 
considerable  number  of 
books  in  prose  and  poetry 
and  lecturing  in  this  coun- 
try and  abroad  as  solicited 
by  demand  for  his  utter- 
ances. He  never  cultivated 
popularity  as  a  speaker,  but 
his  voice  was,  at  one  period 
of  his  life,  heard  frequently 
on  the  question  of  slavery, 
womens'  rights  and  other  subjects  of  current  and  particular  interest.  Mr. 
Emerson  made  his  first  address  as  a  literary  man,  in  1837,  at  Harvard,  on 
"  Man  Thinking. "  An  address  on  "  Literary  Ethics,"  to  the  Divinity  School 
of  the  same  University,  was  his  next  effort,  delivered  a  year  after  the  first. 
In  1840,  he  started  a  magazine  called  The  Dial,  which  taught  the  "  tran- 
scendental philosophy,"  at  that  time  greatly  exercising  the  keen  wits  of  New 
England.  This  publication  lived  four  years.  In  1841,  Emerson  published 
his  "Method  of  Nature,"  "  Man  the  Reformer,"  a  volume  of  "  Essays,"  and 
several  lectures.  His  first  volume  of  poems  appeared  in  1846,  in  which 
year  two  series  of  "  Essays  "  were  also»published.  Three  years  after,  he 
visited  England,  where  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on  "  Representa- 
tive Men."  In  1852,  associated  with  W.  H.  Channing  and  J.  F.  Clarke,  he 
published  a  biography  of  Margaret  Fuller,  who,  with  A.  Bronson  Alcott, 
had  assisted  him  in  the  conduct  of  The  DM.  "  English  Traits,"  perhaps 
the  most  read  of  his  books,  was  published  in  1856,  and  "  The  Conduct  of 
Life,"  in  1860.  These  are  his  principal  works.  Mr.  Emerson's  style  is 
peculiar,  possessing  affectations  and  conceits  which  mar  the  pleasure  of 


EALPH  WALDO  EMEKSON. 


CYCLOPEDIA    Off    USEFUL    KNOW  LSD  C-E. 


the  average  reader.  His  poetry  is  deeply  tender  and  beautiful.  He  died 
April  27,  1882. 

Jolin  G.  Wkittier.— John  Greenleaf  Whittier  was  born  at  Havcrhill, 
Mass.,  in  1807.  Ho  is  a  descendant  of  a  family  belonging  to  the  Society  of 
Friends,  with  which  Mr.  Whittier  is  also  connected,  and  from  which  fact  ho 
has  gained  the  name  of  the  "  Quaker  Poet."  His  earlier  years  were  spent 
on  his  father's  farm,  ami  in  the  occupation  of  a  shoemaker.  A  strong  desire 

for  learning  led  him  to  the 
local  academy  for  a  two  years' 
course  of  study,  and  iu  1829  he 
weiut  to  Boston  and  became 
the  editor  of  the  American 
Manufacture)',  a  protective 
tariff  publication.  In  1830  ho 
edited  the  New  England  Re- 
view, at  Hartford,  Conn.,  from 
which  place  his  first  literary 
efforts  were  Bent  out.  In  1835 
and  1836  he  represented  his 
native  town  in  the  Massachu- 
Eetta  Legislature,  and  was  one 
of  the  Secretaries  of  the 
American  Anti-Slavery  Socie- 
ty, and  during  the  same  yeai-s 
was  editor  of  the  Pennxi/i- 
•vania  freeman,  in  Philadel- 
phia. In  1840,  he  removed  to 
Amesbury,  Mass.,  and  em- 
ployed a  portion  of  his  time  as 
corresponding  editor  of  the 
National  Era,  an  anti-slavery 
paper,  published  at  Washing- 
ton, I).  C.  From  that  time 
until  now,  his  life  has  been 
devoted  to  literature  and 
philanthropy.  His  first  ven- 
ture, in  a  literary  way,  was 
published  in  the  Newburyport 
Free  Press,  in  1826.  He  is  a 

prolific  writer,  and  his  prose  has  been  widely  circulated.  Ho  is  a  thor- 
ough American  poet,  selecting  the  homo  subjects,  which  find  a  welcome  in 
every  heart,  and  portraying  with  graphic  word  pictures  the  bright  side  of 
human  life.  There  is  never  an  exceptional  line  in  Whittier's  poems.  They 
may  lack  the  perfection  of  idea  and  expression  which  characterize  the 
shorter  lyrics  of  Longfellow;  they  may  lack  the  humor  of  Holmes,  and  the 
polish  of  Tennyson,  yet  they  have  a  quaint  simplicity,  which  gives  him  an 
individuality  entirely  his  own.  The  general  impression  of  Whittier  is  one  of 
simplicity  and  quiet  quaintness,  yet,  at  times,  he  bursts  forth  with  a  fire  and 
energy  which  seem  to  spring  from  the  intermingling  of  his  very  life-blood, 
the  out-pouring  of  his  soul,  in  his  ardor  and  enthusiasm.  Whittier  may  not 
be  ranked  by  critics  among  the  great  poets  of  the  world,  but  it  is  for  but 
few  to  hold  the  love  which  h«  holds  from  the  people  of  hia  native  land. 


JOHN  G.   WHITTIEK. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


43 


Alfred  Tennyson. — Tho  Toot  Laureate  of  England  was  born  at 
Somersby,  Lincolnsbiro,  in  tho  year  1809.  He  was  the  third  son  of  the  fiev. 
G.  C.  Tennyson,  and  nephew  of  tho  Eight  Hon.  C.  Tennyson  d'Eyncourt. 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  had  the  honor  of  being  the  place  of  education 
of  the  future  poet.  The  story  of  Tennyson's  life  cau  be  little  else  than  the 
story  of  his  successive  poems.  Bibliomaniacs  are  eager  to  give  a  high  price 
for  tho  little  anonymous  volume  of  'Teems  by  Two  Brothers"  (1827),  the 
earliest  published  verses  of  Alfred  and  Charles  Tennyson.  In  1830  appeared 
"  I'ocnis,  Chiefly  Lyrical,"  and 
from  that  date  on  Tennyson's 
farneasapoetgrewrapidly.  Tho 
"  Mort  d' Arthur,"  "  Locksley 
Hall,"  the  "May  Queen,"  and 
"  Two  Voices  "  followed  each 
other  in  quick  succession.  Of 
the  "Idylls  of  tho  King,"  of 
which  the  "  Mort  d' Arthur " 
was  the  first,  it  may  bo  said 
that  while  students  of  the  old 
Welsh  legends  and  of  the 
ancient  French  Arthurian  ro- 
mances find  much  to  cavil  at, 
the  general  reader  is  intro- 
duced to  a  new  and  magical 
world  of  lofty  thought  and 
poetry.  In  1847  was  printed 
"  The  Princess,"  Tennyson's 
first  long  poem.  "In  Me- 
moriam,"  the  laureate's  great- 
est poem,  was  suggested  by 
the  death  of  young  Arthur  Hal- 
lam.  It  is  a  series  of  marvel- 
ously  touching  monodies,  is 
resplendent  with  religious  and 
philosophical  speculation,  and 
was  the  work  of  many  years. 
The  death  of  Wordsworth 
(1850)  left  it  almost  a  matter  of 
course  that  to  Tennyson  should 
be  offered  "  the  laurel  greener 
from  the  brows  of  him  who  uttered  nothing  base."  Such  noble  poems  as 
that  on  the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort  and  the  famous  "  Charge  of  the 
Light  Brigade "  show  that  the  laureate  did  not  consider  his  office  an  idle 
honor.  Of  Tennyson's  other  chief  poems,  "  Maud  "  was  printed  in  1855;  the 
first  series  of  the  "Idylls  of  the  King"  in  1859;  "Enoch  Arden  and  Other 
Poems  "in  1864;  "The  Holy  Grail  and  Other  Poems"  in  1869;  a  revised 
edition  of  the  "  Idylls,"  arranged  in  sequence,  in  1870;  and  "  The  Widow  " 
in  the  same  year.  His  recent  short  poems— ho  now  writes  but  little — are 
inferior  to  his  best  work.  Like  more  than  one  great  poet  he  has  proved  the 
delusiveness  of  the  belief  that  a  great  poet  must  be  also  a  great  dramatist. 
"Queen  Mary,  a  Drama"  (1875),  and  "Harold"  (1877),  both  tragedies  in 
five  acts,  have  some  powerful  passages,  but  as  acting  plays  are  dreary 
failures.  Tennyson  was  married  in  1851  to  Miss  Emily  Sellwood.  Before 


ALFBED  TENNYSON. 


Of    VSEF17L    KNOWL  El)  GE. 


that  time  he  had  lived  chiefly  in  London;  since  ho  has  resided  at  Farring- 
ford,  Isle  of  Wight,  at  Aldworth  in  Surrey,  and  near  Petersfield,  Hampshire. 
He  has  two  children. 

Herbert  Spencer — The  famous  English  evolutionist,  Herbert 
Spencer,  was  born  in  Derby  in  1820.  He  was  educated  by  his  father,  W.  G. 
Spencer,  a  teacher,  chiefly  of  mathematics,  and  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Spencer,  a  clergyman  of  the  established  church,  well-known  for  his  liberal 

opinions  on  political  and 
ecclesiastical  questions.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen,  he  be- 
came a  civil  engineer;  but 
after  about  eight  years, 
abandoned  the  profession,  in 
consequence  of  the  large  in- 
flux of  young  men  brought 
into  it  during  the  railway 
mania,  and  the  consequent 
undue  competition.  During 
the  eight  years  of  his  engi- 
neering life,  he  contributed 
various  papers  to  the  Civil 
Engineer's  and  Architect's 
Journal.  His  first  produc- 
tions in  general  literature 
were  in  the  shape  of  a  series 
of  letters  on  the  "  Proper 
Sphere  of  Government," 
published  in  the  Noncon- 
I'onnist  newspaper  in  1842, 
which  were  some  time  after 
reprinted  as  a  pamphlet. 
From  the  close  of  1848  to  the 
middle  of  1853,  he  was  en- 
gaged on  the  Economist,  then 

HERBERT  SPENCER.  edited   by  the   late   James 

Wilson,  M.  P.;  and  during 

this  time  he  published  his  first  considerable  work,  "  Social  Statics."  Shortly 
afterward  he  began  to  write  for  the  quarterly  reviews,  most  of  his  articles 
appearing  in  the  Westminster,  and  others  in  the  North  British,  British 
Quarterly,  Edinburgh,  Medico-chimrgical,  etc.  In  1855,  appeared  his 
"Principles  of  Psychology."  In  1860  he  commenced  a  connected  series  of 
philosophical  works,  designed  to  unfold  in  their  natural  order  the  principles 
of  biology,  psychology,  sociology  and  morality.  To  this  series  belong,  besides 
the  "Psychology"  (2  vols.,  new  edition  1871—1872),  "First  Principles" 
(1862,  second  edition,  1867);  "  Principles  of  Biology"  (two  vols.,  1864),  and 
"  Principles  of  Sociology  "  (first  vol.,  1876).  "  Education  "  was  published  in 
1861;  "The  Study  of  Sociology  "in  1872;  and  "Descriptive  Sociology"  in 
1873.  Spencer  has  applied  universally,  and  carried  out  into  detail,  the 
theory  of  evolution. 

William  E.  Gladstone.— An  outline  of  the  public  career  of  William 
E.  Gladstone,  Prime  Minister  of  England,  is  soon  given,  although  he  haa 


n  10  on 


insisted  in  tho  making  of  history  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and  is,  in  some 
respects,  the  most  remarkable,  if  not  the  greatest,  man  in  Europe.  He  was 
born  December  29,  1809,  at  Liverpool,  an  Englishman  by  birth,  but  Scotch 
in  blood.  His  father  was  a  merchant  of  considerable  eminence  and  wealth. 
Great  paina  were  taken  in  tho  education  of  a  lad  singularly  studious  and 
ambitious.  Before  attaining  tho  ago  of  twenty-two,  tho  future  statesman 
graduated  at  the  University  of  Oxford.  This  was  in  tho  year  1831,  preceding 
by  a  twelve-month  only  his  entrance  upon  public  life  as  member  of  Parlia- 
ment for  Nowark-on-Trent. 
Gladstone  was  an  ardent  Con- 
servative at  that  time,  and 
his  first  book  was  a  defence 
of  tho  union  of  Church  and 
State — a  remarkable  work 
which  Macaulay  reviewed  in 
the  Edinburgh  Reciew,  with 
appreciation  of  its  spirit  and 
scholarly  style,  but  condemn- 
ing its  conclusion.  Newark 
continued  Mr.  Gladstone  as 
her  representative  until 
1845.  During  tho  thirteen 
years  of  this  association, 
hopeful  honors  had  fallen 
on  the  head  of  the  youthful 
Commoner,  "  handsome 
Gladstone,"  as  ho  was  called. 
He  was  only  twenty-five  when 
Sir  Robert  Peel  made  him  a 
Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury. 
Three  months  later,  he  was 
promoted  to  bo  an  Under 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies, 
which  position  he  held  until 
April,  1835,  when  Peel  went 
out  of  office.  Upon  the  return  of  Sir  Robert  to  power,  in  1841,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  made  Vice-President  of  the  Council  and  Master  of  the  Mint.  In 
1843,  he  relinquished  the  first-named  of  these  offices  in  order  to  assume  that 
of  President  of  tho  Board  of  Trade.  Two  years  afterward  ho  was  made 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies.  In  1851  Mr.  Gladstone  differed  so  widely  from 
his  party  in  opinion,  that  he  was  no  longer  numbered  in  the  Conservative 
ranks.  He  was  a  member  of  the  coalition  ministry  of  Lord  Aberdeen  formed 
in  the  year  1852,  that  same  ministry  which,  in  alliance  with  France  and 
Turkey,  undertook  the  war  with  Russia.  His  office  was  that  of  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  for  which  he  showed  a  marvelous  aptitude.  In  1858  and 
1859  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  sent  on  a  special  mission  to  the  Ionian 
Islands,  and  in  June,  1859,  again  served  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
under  Lord  Palmerston,  the  Premier,  upon  whose  death  and  the  succeeding 
premiership  of  Earl  Russell  he  continued  to  hold  the  same  position,  and 
also  acted  as  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons.  In  1866  the  Russell-Glad- 
stone ministry,  as  it  was  called,  resigned  in  consequence  of  an  adverse  vote 
on  the  question  of  reform  in  Parliamentary  representation,  and  a  Conserva- 
tive government  assumed  office.  In  1868,  Mr.  Disraeli's  government  retiring 


•WILLIAM  E.   GLADSTONE. 


46        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

because  of  the  election  of  a  Liberal  majority  to  the  Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone 
assumed  the  premiership  for  the  first  time.  His  great  measures,  the  dis- 
establishment arid  disendowment  of  the  Irish  Church  and  the  Irish  Land 
Bill,  were  passed  by  the  year  1870.  In  1873,  his  government  was  defeated 
on  the  Irish  University-Education  Bill,  and  he  resigned,  but  was  persuaded 
by  his  sovereign  to  resume  office.  He  served  until  after  the  general 
election  of  1874,  which  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  Conservatives.  Mr. 
Gladstone  now  retired  from  the  leadership  of  his  party  in  the  House  of 

Commons,  which  was  assumed 
by  the  Marquis  of  Hartington, 
and  devoted  himself  to  liter- 
ary labor.  The  magnificent 
triumph  of  the  Liberals  in  the 
election  of  1880,  when  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  elected  by  Mid- 
Lothian  and  the  borough  of 
Leeds,  virtually  compelled 
his  assumption  of  power  as 
the  First  Lord  of  the  Treas- 
ury, to  which  he  added  the 
functions  of  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer. 


Oliver     Wendell 

Holmes. — This  famous  poet 
and  humorist  was  born  in 
1809,  in  the  old  "  gambrel 
roofed  "  house  in  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  opposite  the  Harvard 
University  buildings.  Hia 
father,  Rev.  Abiel  Holmes, 
D.  D.,  was  an  eminent 
preacher,  and  was  long  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Cambridge.  Dr. 

OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES.  Holmes  graduated  at  Harvard 

in   1829,    and,    adopting   the 

medical  profession,  completed  his  studies  in  1836.  Up  to  1847  he  filled  the 
chair  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology  at  Dartmouth,  and  in  the  latter  year 
assumed  a  similar  professorship  at  Harvard,  since  which  he  has  resided 
continuously  in  Boston.  It  would  be  difficult  to  say  whether  Dr.  Holmes 
enjoys  greater  distinction  as  a  physician  or  man  of  letters.  Both  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  medicine,  he  has  achieved  the  most  brilliant  success. 
He  has  especially  devoted  himself  to  the  investigation  of  psychological 
problems,  raised  by  the  interdependence  of  mind  and  matter,  a  romance, 
"  Elsie  Venner,"  dealing  with  this  subject.  The  success  of  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  was  largely  due  to  his  "  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table  "  and 
other  prose  pieces  which  ho  contributed.  His  graceful  and  polished  style 
invests  the  driest  topics  with  a  peculiar  charm,  and  makes  him  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  popular  of  American  writers.  Who  has  not  heard  of 
the  "One  Horse  Shay"?  Though  past  the  allotted  three-score  and  ten 
years,  he  is  still  tale  and  hearty,  looking  as  he  has  for  forty  years  past. 
gbjewd,  observant,  reflective,  humorous,  generous,  kindly  and  tender,  he  \e 


BIOGRAPHY. 


47 


one  of  those  to  whom  any  one  could  come  for  help.  A  genial  and  cheery 
temperament  has  made  him  the  idol  of  the  Harvard  medical  students 
whom  he  has  so  long  instructed.  No  man  in  America  is  hold  in  higher 
honor  than  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  whose  name  is  an  ornament  to  American 
literature  as  well  aa  to  the  medical  profession. 

James  Russell  Lowell Mr.  Lowell  is  descended  from  an  English 

family  who  settled  in  New  England  in  the  year  1639.  His  grandfather  was 
made  a  Judge  by  Washington  after  having  assisted  in  framing  the  Constitu- 
tion of  Massachusetts  in  1780,  moved  the  insertion  in  the  Bill  of  Eights  of 
that  State  of  the  clause  that 
"  all  men  are  born  free  and 
equal,"  and  earned  great 
eminence  as  a  lawyer.  The 
family  of  the  Lowells  gave 
its  name  to  the  city  of  Lo- 
well, and  has  given  mer- 
chants,  manufacturers, 
authors,  preachers,  lawyers, 
scholars,  philanthropists  and 
statesmen  to  the  Bay  State. 
Mr.  Lowell  was  born  at  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  February  22, 
1819.  He  was  educated  at 
Harvard,  and  in  1855  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Longfellow  in  the 
Belles-Lettres  professorship 
of  that  college.  One  of  his 
greatest  literary  perform- 
ances was  the  production  of 
the  "Biglow  Papers."  He 
is  the  author  of  several  long 
poems  which  are  ranked 
with  our  best  literature,  and 
of  shorter  pieces  almost  in- 
numerable. He  is  a  grace- 
ful speaker,  and  is  remark- 
able for  the  polish  of  his 
utterances  whether  by  pen  or  voice.  He  has  force  and  the  courage  of  his 
opinions,  which  were  decidedly  on  the  side  of  freedom  in  the  anti-slavery 
agitation,  but  is  not  an  aggressive  man,  and  treats  his  opponents  with  self- 
restraint,  courtesy,  and  the  quiet  dignity  of  the  scholar  and  gentleman.  His 
first  diplomatic  position  was  that  of  Minister  to  Spain,  and  his  last  appoint- 
ment as  Minister  to  England  was  conferred  upon  him  by  President  Hayes. 

Peter  Cooper. — No  man  was  more  honored  arsd  loved  than  the  vener- 
able Peter  Cooper,  whoso  death  in  1883  was  mourned  as  a  public  lose.  Mr. 
Cooper  was  born  in  New  York  City,  February  12, 1791.  His  father  served  as 
a  Lieutenant  in  the  Eevolution,  after  which  he  established  a  hat  factory, 
where  young  Peter  worked.  In  1808  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  coachmaker, 
who  esteemed  him  so  highly  that  he  offered  to  start  him  in  business,  which 
was  declined.  Young  Peter  was  able  to  attend  school  but  half  of  each  day 
for  a  single  year.  From  1812  to  1815,  he  manufactured  a  patent  machine  for 


JAMES  KT7SSELL  LOWELL. 


48        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


shearing  wool,  which  was  in  great  demand,  but  lost  its  value  on  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace.  He  successively  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cabinet 
ware,  the  grocery  business  and  in  the  manufacture  of  glue  and  isinglass, 
which  last  he  continued  for  more  than  fortv  years.  The  success  which 
everywhere  crowned  his  efforts  ho  attributed  to  his  never  incurring  a  debt, 
and  so  never  having  interest  to  pay.  His  policy  was  never  to  owe  any  man 
anything  except  his  good  will.  Ho  built  iron  works  near  Baltimore  in  1830, 
and  turned  out  the  first  locomotive  engine  in  America.  Selling  this  soon 

after  he  erected  a  rolling 
and  wire  mill,  in  which  an- 
thracite coal  was  first  suc- 
cessfully applied  to  pud- 
dling iron.  In  1845,  he 
erected  at  Trenton,  New 
Jersey,  the  largest  mills 
then  in  the  United  States 
for  the  manufacture  of  rail- 
road iron.  Here,  he  was 
the  first  to  roll  iron  beams 
for  building  purposes.  He 
invested  a  large  capital  in 
extending  the  electric  tele- 
graph, and  advocated  the 
construction  of  the  Croton 
Aqueduct,  New  York.  The 
Erie  Canal  project  received 
his  hearty  support,  and  he 
invented  an  endless  chain 
operated  by  water,  which 
in  trial  propelled  a  boat  two 
miles  in  eleven  minutes. 
But  his  chief  title  to  fame 
rests  upon  his  efforts  in  be- 
half of  popular  education. 
Ho  was  Yice-President  of 
the  old  Public  School  So- 
ciety, when  it  was  merged 
in  the  Board  of  Education. 
To  give  the  masses  the 

benefits  of  the  School  of  Technology  ho  established  in  New  York,  in  1858,  the 
Cooper  Union  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  and  Art.  The  building  covers 
the  block  between  Seventh  and  Eighth  Streets  and  Third  and  Fourth 
Avenues,  and  cost  $2,000,000.  To  this  ho  added  an  endowment  of  $150,000 
in  cash,  and  other  gifts.  His  career  shows  him  to  have  been  one  of  the 
greatest  of  Americans  and  the  noblest  of  men.  He  learned  three  trades 
before  he  was  twenty-one;  his  genius  enabled  him  to  rank  high  as  an 
inventor;  he  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  affairs,  his  knowledge  of  men 
and  business  securing  success  in  every  venture;  and  most  important 
of  all,  he  was  a  broad  and  practical  philanthropist,  who  labored  con- 
stantly for  the  elevation  and  advancement  of  the  masses  of  the  people.  His 
son,  Edward  Cooper,  was  at  one  time  Mayor  of  New  York,  and  a  daughter 
is  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  for  many  years  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  New  York. 


PETEB  COOPEE. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


19 


James  A.  Garfield. — Tlio  twentieth  President  of  the  United  States, 
James  A.  Garfield,  was  born  in  a  log  cabin  in  Orange  township,  Cuyahoga 
County,  Ohio,  November  19, 1831.  His  early  education  was  obtained  at  a 
district  school-house,  where  ho  learned  to  read,  write  and  cipher.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  went  to  Newburgh  and  chopped  one  hundred  cords  ot 
wood  for  fifty  dollars.  Ho  then  hired  out  to  drive  horses  on  the  canal.  The 
following  year  he  went  to  Geauga  Academy,  to  make  a  beginning  toward 
getting  an  education.  In  the  summer  he  worked  for  day  wages  as  a  farm 
hand  and  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  in  the  winter  studied  industriously 
and  lived  economically.  From  the  Geauga  Academy  he  went  to  the  Eclectic 
Institute  at  Hiram,  Ohio, 
where  he  paid  for  his  tuition 
by  teaching  country  schools 
in  winter.  In  1854  he  entered 
Williams  College,  at  Williams- 
towu,  Mass.,  and  after  grad- 
uating there  he  became  pro- 
fessor of  Latin  and  Greek  and 
afterward  President  of  the 
Hiram  Institute.  He  now 
began  to  take  part  in  politics, 
and  early  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  Republican  party.  He 
was  elected  to  the  State  Sen- 
ate of  Ohio  in  1859,  and  after- 
ward studying  law,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  18G1.  In 
the  same  year  the  civil  war 
broke  out,  and  Garfield  was 
an  early  volunteer.  H e 
served  with  distinction  under 
Buell  and  Eosecrans  at 
Shiloh,  Chickamauga  and  in 
otherimportant  engagements, 
being  promoted  successively 

to  the  ranks  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Colonel,  Brigadier-General  and  Major- 
General.  In  1862  he  resigned  his  commission  to  accept  a  nomination  for 
Congress.  He  served  in  the  House  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  became 
recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  leaders  of  his  party.  In  January,  1880,  he 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  in  June  of  the  same  year  he 
was  nominated  by  the  Republican  party  as  its  candidate  for  President,  to 
•which  high  office  he  was  triumphantly  elected  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  His 
administration  opened  most  contpicuously,  but  on  the  2d  of  July,  1881,  he 
was  assassinated  by  one  Charles  J.  Guiteau,  probably  from  motives  of 
revenge,  he  having  failed  to  obtain  from  the  President  a  coveted  foreign 
mission.  After  a  long  and  painful  illness  Mr.  Garfield  died  at  Long  Branch, 
N.  J.,  September  19,  1881. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant. — This  famous  General  and  the  eighteenth  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  was  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  Clermont  County, 
Ohio,  April  27, 1822.  He  graduated  at  the  Military  Academy  of  West  Point 
in  1813,  and  served  under  General  Taylor  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  in  1816, 
up  to  the  capture  of  Monterey.  His  regiment  was  then  transferred  to  the 


JAMES  A.  GAKFIELD. 


60        CYCLOPEDIA     OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


expedition  under  General  Scott,  and  he  took  part  in  every  action  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  Mexico,  and  was  brevetted  First  Lieutenant  and  Captain  for  meri- 
torious conduct  at  Molino  del  Hey  and  Chapultapec.  In  1852,  he  served  in 
Oregon;  but,  in  1854,  resigned  his  commission,  and  settled  at  St.  Loiiis,  Mo., 
whence,  in  1859,  he  moved  to  Galena,  111.,  and  engaged  in  the  leather  trade. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  Secession  in  1861,  he  volunteered  his  services, 

and  was  appointed  Colonel  of 
an  Illinois  regiment.  In  Au- 
gust he  was  appointed  Briga- 
dier-General, commanding  the 
important  post  of  Cairo,  occu- 
pied Paducah,  and  led  an  ex- 
pedition on  the  Mississippi.  In 
February,  18G2,  ho  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  capture 
of  Fort  Donelson,  on  the  Ten- 
nessee Eiver,  and  was  made 
Major-General.  On  the  6th  of 
April  following,  after  a  pre- 
liminary defeat,  he  won  a 
great  battle  over  the  Con- 
federates at  Pittsburgh  Land- 
ing, or  Shiloh.  Succeeding 
General  Halleck  in  the  west, 
he  commanded  the  land  forces 
which,  in  conjunction  with  tho 
navy,  reduced  Yicksburg, 
July  4, 1863,  soon  followed  by 
the  fall  of  Fort  Hudson,  and 
the  opening  of  tho  Mississippi. 
He  then  took  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and 
defeated  General  Bragg  at 
Chickamauga,  in  September 
of  the  same  year;  and  was,  in 
1864,  appointed  Lieutonant- 
General  and  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  personally  directed 
the  operations  of  the  great 
final  struggle  in  Virginia,  in  which  the  Northern  forces,  though  often 
repulsed  with  heavy  losses,  finally  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Richmond, 
April  2,  1865,  followed  ou  the  9th  by  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  army 
under  General  Lee,  and  soon  after  of  the  entire  Confederate  forces.  Con- 
gress, in  recognition  of  his  eminent  services,  passed  an  act  reviving  the 
grade  of  "General  of  the  Army  of  tho  United  States,"  to  which  Grant 
was  immediately  appointed.  In  1868  he  was  elected,  on  tho  Republican 
platform,  President  of  tho  United  States;  and  having,  in  1872,  been 
re-elected  over  a  notable  opponent,  the  late  Horace  Groeley,  of  the  New 
fork  Tril)une,  he  retired  in  1877  after  his  second  term  of  office.  In  tho 
latter  year  he  began  his  tour  around  tho  world,  returning  in  1880,  after 
having  been  the  recipient  of  unprecedented  honors.  In  1885,  he  completed 
his  popular  work,  "  The  Personal  Memoirs  of  U.  S.  Grant,"  being  a  narrative 
ol  his  own  experiences  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  He  died  July  23, 1885v 


TTLTSSES  S.  GBANT. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


51 


Samuel  J.  Tilden. — Tho  distinguished  Democrat,  Samncl  J.  Tildon, 
was  born  in  Now  York  City  in  the  year  1814.  He  entered  Yale  College,  from 
whence  he  was  graduated.  Choosing  the  legal  profession  he  subsequently 
studied  law  in  the  University  of  New  York,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
His  advancement,  owing  to  his  extraordinary  natural  gifts,  was  rapid,  and 
ho  soon  acquired  a  reputation  for  great  legal  acuteness,  especially  in  rail- 
road litigation.  Ho  soon  became  interested  in  local  and  State  politics,  and 
was  for  thirteen  years  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Committee  of  New 
York.  Ho  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  in  1846,  and  hi 
1872  this  honor  was  again  con- 
ferred upon  him.  Meantime  he 
had  acquired  great  wealth 
from  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  many  shrewd  specu- 
lations and  investments,  being 
one  of  the  leading  capitalists 
cngagcdin building  the  elevat- 
ed railroads  in  New  York  City. 
In  1874  Mr.  Tildeu  received 
the  nomination  for  Governor 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  to 
which  office  ho  was  elected. 
During  the  two  years  in  which 
he  was  at  the  head  of  the 
State  Government  he  achieved 
great  reputation  as  a  reform- 
er, breaking  up  numerous 
corrupt  rings,  and  became  at 
once  the  most  prominent  man 
in  hia  party.  He  was  nom- 
inated for  the  Presidency  in 
1876,  Mr.  Hendricks,  of  In- 
diana, being  the  candidate  for 
Vico-Presidont.  In  the  elec- 
tion which  followed  Mr.  Til- 
den  received  a  majority  of  the 
popular  vote,  and  on  the  face 
of  the  returns  was  duly  elected.  A  dispute  arose,  however,  regarding  the 
vote  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Florida  and  Oregon,  and  a 
commission  consisting  of  five  Senators,  five  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court 
and  five  Members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  was  appointed  to  deter- 
mine the  matter.  This  commission  was  composed  of  eight  Republican  and 
seven  Democratic  members,  and,  dividing  strictly  upon  party  lines,  gave 
the  electoral  votes  of  the  disputed  States  to  Rutherford  B."  Hayes,  Mr. 
Tilden's  opponent,  who  was  accordingly  declared  elected.  Though  fre- 
quently urged  to  again  become  the  standard  bearer  of  his  party,  Mr.  Tilden 
has  mingled  no  more  in  politics,  but  has  lived  hi  retirement  at  his  palatial 
residence  in  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 

George  P.  Edmunds.— Senator  Edmunds  is  descended  from  Quaker 
and  Puritanic  parentage.  He  is  a  Vermonter  by  birth,  having  been  born  at 
Richmond,  February  1,  1828.  He  received  a  public  school  education,  read 


SAMUEL  J.   TILDEN. 


62 


CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  At  twenty-six  years  of  age,  he  was  elected 
to  the  State  Legislature,  and  continued  to  assist  in  ite  proceedings  five 
years,  during  three  of  which  he  served  as  Speaker  of  the  House.  In  1861 
and  18G2,  he  acted  as  temporary  presiding  officer  in  the  Senate  of  Vermont. 
His  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  has  been  held  continuously  since  18C6, 
when  ho  received  an  appointment  to  fill  the  vacancy  created  by  the  death  of 
Solomon  Foot.  Ho  was  a  member  of  the  Electoral  Commission  in  1877,  and 

succeeded  Mr.  Trumbull  in 
the  Chairmanship  of  the  Judi- 
ciary Committee.  In  that 
position  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant measures  ever  before 
the  National  Legislature 
passed  through  his  hands.  He 
is  an  able,  but  not  a  brilliant 
speaker,  and  however  keen 
and  sarcastic  his  oratorical 
efforts  may  be,  he  is  never  per- 
sonally offensive.  As  a  law- 
yer, statesman  and  debater, 
Senator  Edmunds  ranks 
among  the  highest.  The  coun- 
try hears  from  him  on  all 
great  public  questions,  which 
do  not  seem  to  have  been 
thoroughly  discussed  until  the 
illumination  of  his  learning, 
cool  jiidgment  and  perspicu- 
o  u  s  statement  have  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  them. 
He  is  emphatically  a  safe  man. 
While  staunch  to  his  party,  he 
is  not  narrow  or  unfair,  and 
is  regarded  by  the  opposite 
party  with  a  respect  as  nearly 
like  the  veneration  with  which 
his  own  party  regards  him,  as 
the  circumstances  of  political 
opposition  admits  of.  He  is  a 
genial  man,  warm  and  constant  in  hia  friendships,  as  witness  his  longtime 
brotherly  association  with  Senator  Thurman,  with  whom  he  was  inseparable, 
excepting  in  the  Senate  where  party  lines  divided  them.  That  he  is  a  good 
man,  against  whose  fair  name  calumny  would  be  powerless,  needs  not  to  be 
said.  In  1880  several  leading  newspapers  strongly  urged  hid  nomination  for 
the  Presidency.  Mr.  Edmunds  is  a  tall,  broad  shouldered  man  with  a  stoop 
noticeable  in  close  students.  His  eyes  are  steel  gray  set  under  heavy  eye- 
brows of  bristling  white.  No  public  man  is  more  respected.  His  honors  are 
universally  felt  to  be  due  to  his  superior  talents,  exemplary  diligence  and 
exalted  character. 

Allen  G.  Thurman. — Ex-Senator  Allen  G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  a  gen- 
tleman held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  both  political  parties,  and  a  statesman 
of  learning,  experience  and  lofty  character,  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  Yir- 


GEOKGE   F.   EDMUNDS. 


13100  flA  PHY. 


ginia.  He  was  born  at  Lynchburg,  November  13,  1813.  When  four  years 
old  his  home  was  changed  to  the  State  of  Ohio.  Ho  received  a  thorough 
education,  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  when  twenty-two  years 
of  age.  After  having  practiced  law  lor  some  years  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  ho 
was  returned  as  Representative  to  the  Twenty-ninth  Congress.  In  1851  ho 
was  elected  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  and  was  Chief  Justice 
in  the  same  court  from  1854  to  1856.  He  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  Governorship  of  the  State  in  1867,  but  was  defeated.  A  year  later  ho 
was  elected  a  United  States 
Senator,  and  took  his  seat 
March  4,  1869.  He  was  re- 
elected  in  1874,  and  his  sec- 
ond term  of  service  expired 
March  3,  1881,  when,  the 
Legislature  of  Ohio  being 
Eepublican,  he  retired  to 
private  life  in  his  home  at 
Columbus.  Mr.  Tlmrman's 
services  to  his  party,  as  well 
as  to  the  country  at  large, 
are  well  known.  In  the 
Senate  ho  was  a  warm  and 
vigorous  advocate  of  all 
just  and  prudent  measures, 
and  a  bitter  antagonist  of 
corruption.  He  is  one  of 
the  few  public  men  who  pos- 
sess the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  the  entire  people, 
even  those  differing  with 
him  upon  questions  of  po- 
litical economy  cheerfully 
acknowledging  Ms  remark- 
able abilities  and  sterling 
integrity.  He  has  long  been 
upon  terms  of  warm  in- 
timacy with  Senator  Ed-  ALLEN  a.  THUBMAN. 
munds,  of  Vermont,  though 

the  two  are  widely  at  variance  in  political  views.  He  was  prominently  men- 
tioned as  the  Democratic  candidate  for  President  in  1880  and  again  in  1884, 
and,  though  Allen  G.  Thurman  may  or  may  not  be  again  called  upon  to 
serve  tbe  country  in  office,  he  will  always  hold  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of 
his  countrymen. 

John  Sherman.— His  record  gives  the  subject  of  this  sketch  great 
authority  on  the  question  of  finance.  He  is  an  Ohio  man,  bora  at  Lancas- 
ter on  the  10th  of  May,  1823,  in  a  family  of  English  extraction,  whose  first 
American  ancestry  settled  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  His  father, 
Charles  Eobert  Sherman,  was  made  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio, 
the  same  year  in  which  John  was  born,  the  eighth  child  of  a  family  of  twelve. 
When  his  father  died,  John  was  only  six  years  old,  and  the  widow's  eleven 
surviving  children  were  divided  by  harsh  necessity,  only  three  being  left  in 
their  mother's  care.  In  1831,  John  was  taken  by  a  cousin  of  his  fnther, 


CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


named  John  Sherman,  to  live  with  him  at  Mount  Vernon.  This  kinsman  had 
him  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  academy  in  anticipation  of  giving  liim  a 
college  education.  At  twelve,  young  John  entered  the  Academy  at  Lancas- 
ter. Wo  next  find  him  acting  as  junior  rod  man  in  a  corps  of  engineers 
engaged  in  the  Muskingum  improvement.  In  1838,  when  only  fifteen,  he 
was  given  charge  of  the  works  at  Beverly.  His  next  move  was  to  study  law 
in  the  office  of  Charles  T.  Sherman,  an  older  brother,  who  was  afterwards 

made  a  Judge  of  the  United 
States  District  Court.  He  en- 
tered into  partnership  with 
his  brother  at  Mansfield  in 
1844.  Four  years  later,  ho 
began  his  political  life  as  dele- 
gate to  the  "Whig  Convention 
which  nominated  General 
Taylor  for  President.  In  the 
same  year,  1848,  he  married  a 
daughter  of  Judge  Stewart, 
of  Mansfield.  He  was  dele- 
gate to  the  Baltimore  Conven- 
tion of  1852,  which  nominated 
General  Scott.  His  first  elec- 
tion to  Congress  was  in  1855, 
where  he  gained  distinction 
in  committee  work.  He  was 
a  supporter  of  John  C.  Fre- 
mont, in  1856,  believing  that 
the  area  of  slavery  should  not 
be  extended  while  the  exist- 
ence of  the  institution  itself 
could  not  be  disturbed  in  the 
States  which  supported  it. 
Mr.  Sherman  was  elected  to 
the  Thirty-fifth  and  Thirty- 
sixth  Congresses.  When,  in 
March,  18G1,  Salmon  P.  Chase 
retired  from  the  Senate,  John 

JOHN  SHEEMAN.  Sherman  was  elected  to  take 

his  place,  and  was  re-elected 

in  18G7  and  1873.  Ho  was  conspicuous  for  patriotism  in  the  war,  spending 
money,  time  and  service  in  the  Federal  cause.  The  making  Treasury  notes 
a  legal  tender  in  1862  was  mainly  due  to  him  and  Salmon  P.  Chase.  In 
1867,  he  proposed  the  Refunding  Act,  passed  in  1870,  and  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments  on  January  1, 1879,  was  the  leading  triumph  of  his  financial 
policy.  President  Hayes  made  him  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  March, 
1877.  Upon  retirement  from  office  with  the  incumbency  of  President 
Garfield,  the  veteran  financier  resumed  his  Beat  in  the  United  States 
Senate. 

William  M.  Evarts. — Both  as  a  lawyer  and  a  statesman  Mr.  Evarts 
ranks  high.  Since  the  death  of  Charles  O'Conor  ho  has  been  regarded  as  at 
the  head  of  the  American  Bar.  His  career  in  his  profession  has  been  one  of 
unfailing  diligence  and  brilliant  success.  The  firm  of  which  he  is  now  the 


PHY. 


55 


head  is  entrusted  \vitli  great  interests,  and  realizes  enormous  fees.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  opinions  differ  strongly  as  to  Mr.  Evarts's  political  views 
and  conduct.  He  was  born  in  Boston,  February  6, 1818,  the  son  of  a  clergy- 
man of  that  city.  When  a  child  he  manifested  wonderful  precocity,  and  waa 
well  grounded  in  the  learned  languages  very  early  in  life.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  Yale,  and  of  Harvard  in  law.  In  1841  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  New 
York  City,  where  he  continues  in  active  practice.  Mr.  Evarts  was  leading 
counsel  for  President  Johnson  in  the  impeachment  proceedings  of  1868,  and 
from  July  15  of  that  year  to  the  end  of  the  Johnson  administration  waa 
Attorney-General  of  the  Uni- 
ted States.  He  represented 
the  United  States  in  the 
tribunal  of  arbitration  which 
determined  on  the  Alabama 
Claims  at  Geneva  in  1872.  Mr. 
Evarts  was  chief  of  counsel 
for  Henry  Ward  Beecher  in 
the  Tilton-Beecher  trial.  In 
187C  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Tilden  to  serve  on 
the  Charter  Commission.  He 
was  Secretary  of  State  during 
the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Hayes,  after  having  rep- 
resented the  Eepublican  party 
in  the  discussion,  before  the 
Electoral  Commission,  of  the 
questions  on  which  the  Presi- 
dency depended.  In  1885  he 
•was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  Perhaps  no 
man  is  better  qualified  than 
Mr.  Evarts  to  speak  on  ques- 
tions of  interest  at  public 
meetings,  and  he  is  much  in 
demand  on  these  occasions 
He  ia  believed  to  be  un- 
equalled as  a  phrase-maker,  and  seems  to  be  able  to  talk  happily  under  all 
circumstances.  Unfortunately  his  delivery,  graceful  and  correct  as  it  is,  is 
unaccompanied  by  the  power  necessary  to  its  perfection.  Notwithstanding 
this  defect,  however,  no  public  man  in  the  United  States  is  heard  with 
greater  respect  and  admiration  than  Mr.  Evarts.  He  is  accused  of  time- 
•erving,  a  want  of  moral  courage,  and  inconsistency  in  his  utterances,  but  a 
man  who  has  talked  so  many  years  can  hardly  be  expected  to  remain 
in  the  same  mind  on  every  question  which  has  engaged  his  attention.  Mr. 
Evarts's  personal  appearance  is  remarkable.  He  is  tall  and  thin.  Hia 
face  is  refined  and  indicative  of  his  extraordinary  capacity,  but  cold 
and  unvarying  in  its  expression.  The  great  lawyer  and  rhetorician, 
"  the  American  Cicero,"  as  somebody  calls  him,  dresses  most  ungracefully; 
but  too  much  hat  and  baggy  trousers  do  not  impair  the  certainty  of  his 
being  recognized  as  a  gentleman  by  all  sorte  and  conditions  of  people. 
He  is  a  family  man,  the  head  of  a  household  eminent  among  the  most 
refined  and  cultured  in  New  York. 


WILLIAM  M.    EVAKTS. 


56        CYCLOP^blA    Of    USBFVL 


Thomas  P.  Bayard.— Thomas  Francis  Bayard  was  borii  in  Wilming- 
ton, Del.,  October  29,  1828.  His  father  and  grandfather,  both  named  James 
A.  Bayard,  and  his  uncle,  Kichard  H.  Bayard,  served  as  United  States 
Senators  from  Delaware.  Mr.  Bayard  was  educated  chiefly  at  the  Flushing 
school  established  by  Rev.  Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.  D.,  and  was  originally 
designed  for  a  mercantile  career.  He  chose  the  law,  however,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1851.  He  was  appointed  United  States  District- 
Attorney  for  Delaware  in  1853.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  taking  his  seat  on  March  4,  1869,  and  was  re-elected  in  1875 

and  1881.  In  1876  he  was  a 
Member  of  the  Electoral 
Commission.  During  his 
career  in  the  United  States 
Senate  he  distinguished  him- 
self in  all  the  ways  by  which 
a  public  official  could  com- 
mend himself,  and  it  is  pre- 
suming nothing  to  say  that 
he  is  among  the  foremost  of 
American  statesmen  to-day. 
He  has  brought  to  his  work 
high  personal  character,  a 
mind  of  conservative  mold, 
pure  devotion  to  great  pub- 
lic interests,  ability  as  an 
orator  and  debater  and 
activity  and  energy  in  the 
committee  r  o  o  m — qualities 
that  have  never  failed  him. 
He  has  always  been  an  un- 
questioned Democrat,  re- 
spected by  his  party  as  a 
great  and  safe  leader,  al- 
though hardly  ever  the  beau 
ideal  of  the  mere  machine 
politicians.  In  person  ho 
bears  an  admirable  physique;  is  fond  of  outdoor  sports  and  athletic  exercise. 
He  is  marriedj  and  is  the  head  of  an  interesting  family.  In  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  of  1880  he  received  153%  votes  on  the  first  ballot.  In 
the  Democratic  National  Convention  of  1884  he  received  170  votes  on  the 
first  ballot  and  151%  on  the  second.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  by  President  Cleveland. 

James  G.  Blaine. — This  distinguished  gentleman,  who  is  universally 
known  as  a  statesman  of  large  views  and  varied  attainments,  comes  of  good 
old  Revolutionary  stock,  and  was  born  in  Union  Township,  "Washington 
County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1830.  When  but  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  was 
graduated  with  the  first  honors  of  his  class  from  the  College  of  Washington 
and  Jefferson,  in  that  State.  Shortly  afterward  he  went  to  Kentucky  and 
entered  upon  the  active  business  of  life,  by  becoming  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics in  the  Western  Military  Institute,  at  Blue  Lick  Spring.  During  his 
residence  there,  he  first  met  Miss  Harriet  Stanwood,  an  accomplished  young 
lady  from  Maine,  who,  after  he  had  had  experience  as  a  tutor  for  two  years, 


THOMAS   F.    BAYAKD. 


induced  him  to  remove  to  her  native  State,  where  ho  soon  began  to  display 
those  abilities  which  have  since  made  him  famous,  and  which  have  for 
years  placed  the  leadership  of  the  Republican  party  of  that  section  of  tho 
Union  in  his  hands.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Maine,  ho  married  the  lady 
jnst  mentioned;  and  not  long  subsequently  embraced  tho  profession  of 
journalism,  becoming,  for  a  brief  period,  connected  with  the  Portland  Daily 
Ailrciiiser.  Upon  relinquishing  Ms  position  on  this  publication,  ho  settled 
in  Augusta,  and  undertook  the  editorship  of  tho  Kcnnebcc  Journal;  thence- 
forward progressing  steadily  in  both  private  and  public  estimation.  In 
1858,  Mr.  Elaine  was  elected 
a  Representative  of  tho  Re- 
publican party  to  the  State 
Legislature,  where  he  speed- 
ily made  his  mark.  From 
this  time  forward  his  influ- 
ence in  the  House  and 
throughout  the  State  became 
most  pronounced,  and  so  well 
assured,  that  he  was  called 
upon  to  serve  for  four  ses- 
sions, during  tho  latter  two 
of  which  he  was  Speaker  of 
tho  House.  In  1862  he  was 
first  elected  to  Congress,  and 
was  re-elected  six  times,  or 
until  ho  became  a  Senator  in 
1876.  He  was  Speaker  of  the 
Forty-first,  Forty-second  and 
Forty-third  Congresses,  and 
was  still  serving  his  first 
term  as  Senator  when  he  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  State 
by  President  Garficld  in  1881. 
Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Gar- 
field,  which  occured  in  Sep  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 
tember  of  the  same  year, 

Mr.  Blaino  retired  to  private  life  and  engaged  in  writing  a  voluminous  work 
entitled  "  Twenty  Years  of  Congress."  Tho  first  volume  was  published  in 
1884,  and  met  with  an  almost  unprecedent  success.  In  June  of  the  samo 
year  the  Republican  National  Convention  met  at  Chicago  and  nominated 
Mr.  Elaine  for  the  Presidency.  He  directed  a  vigorous  campaign,  but  was 
defeated  by  his  Democratic  opponent,  Grover  Cleveland. 

William  T.  Sherman.— General  Sherman  is  a  native  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  was  born  at  Lancaster,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1820.  He  was 
graduated  at  "West  Point  in  his  twenty-first  year,  and  saw  military  service  in 
Florida  and  tho  Mrar  with  Mexico  and  elsewhere,  before  resigning  his  com- 
mission in  tho  year  1853.  Upon  his  retirement  from  the  army  he  began 
business  in  San  Francisco  as  a  banker,  and  continued  this  vocation  four 
years,  including  a  residence  in  New  York  City.  From  1857  to  1859  he  prac- 
ticed law  in  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  During  the  succeeding  time  up  to  the 
secession  of  the  State  from  tho  Union,  ho  acted  as  Superintendent  of  the 
Louisiana  Military  Academy.  His  resignation  took  place  in  January,  1861, 


CYCLOPEDIA    OF    UKEFVt    KNOWLEDGE. 


and  was  almost  immediately  followed  by  his  return  to  the  army.  The  civil 
war  gave  Sherman  the  opportunity  of  distinguished  service,  and  placed  him 
in  the  first  rank  of  living  generals.  His  first  commission  was  that  of  Colonel 
of  a  regiment  of  infantry.  At  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  he  commanded  a 
brigade  of  volunteers,  and  was  made  Brigadier-General  of  volunteers. 
After  serving  a  short  time  in  the  camp  of  instruction  at  St.  Louis,  he  took 
part  in  the  campaign  conducted  in  the  States  of  Tennessee  and  Mississippi, 
during  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General  of  the 

regular    army.     In    October, 

1863,  he    succeeded  General 
Grant  as  commander  of  the 
army  department  of  the  Ten- 
nessee.    When,  in    March, 

1864,  General  Grant  was  made 
Lieutenaut-General  and  Com- 
mander  of  all    the   Union 
forces,  Sherman  succeeded 
him    as    Commander   of    the 
military  division  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.   This  included  the  en- 
tire  Southwest,  and  his    ap- 
pointment gave  him  command 
of  more  than  a  hundred  thou- 
sand  effective    troops  with 
whom  to  operate  against  Gen- 
eral J.  E.  Johnston.  He  began 
the  invasion  of  Georgia  on  the 
2d  of  May,  1864,  making  his 
advance    movement   at    the 
same  time  with  that  of  General 
Grant  in  the  East.     His  forces 
were  superior  in  number  to 
those  of  the  Confederate  Gen- 
eral, who,  however,  stubborn- 
ly contested  the  advance    at 
every  possible   point.    There 
was  much  hard  fighting  be- 
tween the  two  armies,  and  it  was  not  until  September  2d  that  Atlanta  was 
captured  by  Major-General  Sherman,  but  then  newly  promoted  to  this  rank. 
He  occupied  the  city  with  his  army  for  ten  weeks,  when  he  commenced  his 
march  to  the  sea,  having  previously  dispatched  some  forty  thousand  men 
under  General  Thomas  to  repel  General  Hood's  advance  into  Tennessee. 
His  remaining  forces  consisted  of  sixty  thousand  men,  more  or  less.    In  less 
than  a  month  they  had  marched  three  hundred  miles  without  resistance. 
His  first  fight  was  at  Fort  McAllister,  below  Savannah,  the  surrender  of 
which  stronghold  preceded  that  of  Savannah  by  eight  days.    In  the  middle 
of  January,  1865,  General  Sherman  began  his  invasion  of  the  Carolinas.    His 
march  through  South  Carolina  lasted  six  weeks.    In  North  Carolina  ho 
encountered    considerable    opposition,   and    fought    two   pitched    battles. 
Goldsboro'  was  occupied    on    the  22d  of  March,  1865,  Kaleigh  on  April 
13th.    On  the  26th  of  April  General    Johnston  surrendered  his  army  to 
Sherman  on  the  same  terms  as  had  been  granted  to  General  Lee  by  General 
Grant,    This  surrender  virtually  closed  the  war.    General  Sherman  con- 


W1L.IJAM  T.    SHEEMAN. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


no 


tinned  in  command  of  the  military  division  of  the  Mississippi  a  year  alter 
the  end  of  the  hostilities,  with  the  rank  of  Major-General  in  the  regular 
army.  He  was  promoted  to  Lieuteuant-General  when  in  July,  18GG,  Grant 
had  been  made  General  of  the  Army.  His  command  continued  as  before. 
Sherman  succeeded  Grant  as  General  of  the  Army  in  March,  1869,  after  the 
election  of  the  first  named  to  the  Presidency. 

Philip  H.  Sheridan.  -On  February  9,  1865,  the  thanks  of  the  United 
States  Congress  were  tendered  to  a  man  for  the  gallantry,  military  skill  and 
courage  displayed  hi  a  series 
of  victories,  achieved  by  bis 
army,  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Shenandoah,  especially  at  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Eun.  This 
man  was  Philip  Henry  Sheri- 
dan, familiarly  known  as 
"  Little  Phil."  He  was  born 
hi  Somerset,  Perry  County, 
Ohio,  hi  1831,  was  educated 
at  West  Point,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Military  Acad- 
emy hi  1848,  where  he  grad- 
uated in  1853.  Entering  the 
United  States  Artillery,  he 
served  in  Texas  and  Oregon 
until  1855,  when  he  sailed  for 
San  Francisco,  in  command 
of  an  escort  to  a  United  States 
surveying  expedition.  From 
this  time  until  1861,  he  com- 
manded a  body  of  troops 
among  the  Indian  tribes, 
when  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  Captain.  Upon  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war, 
he  was  appointed  Quarter- 
master of  the  Western  De- 
partment, and  Colonel  of  the 
Second  Michigan  Volunteer 
Cavalry.  At  Booneville,  hi  July,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General  of  volunteers,  and  took  command  of  the  third  division  of 
the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  distinguishing  himself  by  his  defence  of  Louisville, 
and  again  whining  distinction  on  the  banks  of  the  Stone  Kiver,  December  30th, 
at  which  time  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major-General  of  volunteers. 
He  was  appointed  in  April,  1864,  to  the  command  of  the  cavalry  corps  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  In  September,  1864,  he  was  appointed  Brigadier- 
General,  and  hi  November  of  the  same  year  Major-General  of  the  United 
States  Army.  He  was  in  command  of  various  military  divisions  of  the  army 
from  June  3, 1864,  until  September  12,  1867.  On  March  4,  1869,  he  was 
appointed  Lieutenant-General  of  the  United  States  Army,  and  the  same 
month  took  the  command  of  the  military  division  of  the  Missouri.  He  was 
in  command  of  the  Western  Division,  with  headquarters  at  Chicago,  until 
1879,  and  commanded  the  forces  which  were  sent  to  quell  the  Louisiana 


PHILIP  H.    SHERIDAN. 


<SO         CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

difficulties.  The  cavalry  branch  of  the  Federal  forces  under  his  able 
direction  acquired  an  efficiency  and  gained  a  reputation  such  as  it  had 
ne\er  borne  before.  Sheridan  recently  succeeded  Sherman  as  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Army. 

Grover  Cleveland. — Mr.  Cleveland  is  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  at 
Caldwell,  Essex  County,  March  18, 1837.  His  father  was  a  minister.  After 
receiving  such  instruction  as  was  procurable  from  the  common  school  in 

various  places  of  the  parental 
residence,  young  Cleveland 
was  sent  to  the  Academy, 
Clinton,  Oneida  County,  New 
York.  Upon  leaving  this  seat 
of  learning,  he  went  to  New 
York  City,  where  he  filled  for 
some  time  the  position  of 
clerk  in  an  institution  of 
charity.  He  is  next  heard  of 
making  his  way  West,  in  com- 
pany with  an  enterprising 
young  man,  with  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  as  his  objective  point; 
but  visiting,  while  on  his  way, 
an  uncle  residing  in  Buffalo, 
he  was  induced  to  remain  in 
that  city,  as  clerk  in  the  store 
of  his  relative.  He  was 
eighteen  years  of  age  at  the 
time,  an  ambitious  young  fel- 
low possessed  of  the  earnest 
desire  to  become  a  successful 
lawyer.  His  uncle  favored 
this  aspiration,  and  we  soon 
find  the  youth  a  clerk  in  the 
office  of  a  prominent  law  firm 
and  at  the  same  time  enjoy- 
ing the  comforts  of  a  good 
home  at  his  relative's  house. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar 
in  1859.  His  first  political  office  was  as  Assistant  District- Attorney  for  the 
County  of  Erie,  under  C.  C.  Torrance.  He  held  the  position  three  years, 
until  the  end  of  his  superior's  term  of  office,  when  he  was  nominated  for 
District- Attorney  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  defeated.  In  1870,  five  years 
after  this  failure,  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  Erie  County;  and  in  November, 
1881,  was  elected  Mayor  of  Buffalo  by  a  decisive  majority.  So  admirably 
did  he  perform  the  functions  of  this  office  that  his  fame  as  a  reformer  soon 
spread  throughout  the  State,  and  in  1882  he  was  nominated  for  Governor. 
The  Republican  party  was  hopelessly  divided,  and  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
elected  by  the  enormous  majority  of  192,000.  This  phenomenal  success, 
coupled  with  his  very  satisfactory  administration  of  the  State  government, 
gave  Mr.  Cleveland  a  national  reputation,  and  in  1884  the  Democratic  party, 
in  convention  at  Chicago,  nominated  him  as  its  candidate  for  President. 
The  Republican  candidate  was  James  G.  Blame,  and  an  animated  and 


GKOVER   CLEVELAND. 


BIOGRAPHY. 


01 


sharply  contested  campaign  followed,  but  Mr.  Cleveland  was  elected,  and 
on  March  4, 1885,  was  i»augurated  President  of  the  United  States. 

Thomas  A.  Heiidricks Thomas  Andrew  Hendricks  was  born   in 

Ohio  on  the  7th  of  September,  1819.  He  was  graduated  from  South  Han- 
over College  in  that  State  in  1840,  when  he  removed  to  Chambersburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  began  the 
study  of  law.  Three  years 
later  ho  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar  and  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Indiana. 
His  career  opened  auspi- 
ciously and  in  a  few  years  he 
became  a  lawyer  of  excellent 
standing.  In  1848  he  was 
elected  to  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, and  in  1850  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  State  Constitu- 
tional Convention.  The  next 
year  he  was  elected  to  the 
House  of  Representatives, 
and  in  1853  his  term  expired. 
He  was  appointed  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land 
Office  by  President  Pierce, 
and  from  this  on  he  has  been 
one  of  the  most  important 
political  characters  in  In- 
diana. In  1860  he  ran  for 
Governor  against  Henry  S. 
Lane,  and  was  defeated.  He 
was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  in  1863  for  the 
long  term.  Here  he  won 
considerable  distinction  as  a 
debater  and  served  with 
marked  ability  in  the  Com- 
mittees on  Claims,  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds,  the 
Judiciary,  Public  Lands  and  Naval  Affairs.  His  nama  was  presented  to  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  in  1868  as  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and 
he  would- no  doubt  have  received  the  nomination  but  for  the  Ohio  delegates, 
who  by  persistently  voting  for  Horatio  Seymour  finally  caused  a  stampede 
in  his  favor.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Hendricks  have  always  insisted  that  his 
nomination  would  have  insured  a  Democratic  victory.  Again  in  1872  he  was 
proposed  as  a  candidate  in  the  Democratic  National  Convention,  and  but  for 
the  unexpected  fusions  of  that  time  he  would  probably  have  been  the  nom- 
inee of  his  party.  He  was  nominated  for  Vice-President  in  1876  upon  the 
ticket  with  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  and  for  the  same  office  in  1884,  Grover  Cleve- 
land being  the  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  was  elected. 


THOMAS  A.    HENDKTCKS. 


HISTORY. 


The  Battle  of  Waterloo.— The  decisive  conflict  -which  annihilated 
uhe  power  of  Napoleon  I,  was  fought  June  18,  1815,  in  a  plain  about  two 
miles  from  the  village  of  Waterloo,  and  twelve  miles  south  from  Brussels. 
Agreeably  to  the  unanimous  resolve  of  the  Allies  to  attack  Napoleon  on  all 
sides,  and  crush  him  as  they  had  done  in  1814,  British  and  Prussian  troops 
were  stationed  in  the  Netherlands,  under  the  command  of  Wellington  and 
Blucher  respectively,  in  order  to  attack  France  on  the  north.  Napoleon,  on 
his  side,  well  aware  that  for  a  considerable  time  no  weighty  attack  could  be 
made  on  France  except  by  these  forces,  and  fully  recognizing  the  immense 
advantage  to  be  gained  by  destroying  one  enemy  before  the  others  could 
comb  up,  rapidly  concentrated  the  bulk  of  his  troops;  and  with  a  sudden- 
ness and  secrecy  which  defied  all  effective  counter-preparations,  crossed  the 
Belgian  frontier,  and  fell  with  one  part  of  his  forces  on  the  Prussians  at 
Ligny,  and  with  the  other  part,  under  Ney's  immediate  command,  on  the 
army  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  at  Quatre-Bras.  The  Prussians — as  Welling- 
ton, after  learning  Blucher's  dispositions  for  the  battle,  had  foretold — were, 
after  a  contest  of  the  most  obstinate  description,  completely  defeated;  but  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  by  the  aid  of  the  reinforcements  promptly  forwarded  to 
him  by  the  English  commander,  succeeded  in  withstanding  Ney's  attack. 
In  the  plan  preconcerted  by  the  Allied  generals  such  a  result  was  not  un- 
foreseen, and  in  accordance  with  their  scheme  of  firm  resistance  and  retreat 
if  necessary  (to  allow  time  for  the  Kussians  and  Austrians  to  assemble  on 
the  eastern  frontier  of  France),  Blucher  retreated  northwards  (instead  of 
eastwards,  as  Napoleon  expected)  nearer  the  place  of  rendezvous  with  Well- 
ington at  Mont  St.  Jean;  while  early  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  the  Anglo- 
Netherlanders  retired  along  an  almost  parallel  route  till  they  reached  the 
forest  of  Soignies,  hi  front  of  which  they  were  formed  in  battle  array,  facing 
southwards.  Napoleon,  imagining  that  the  Prussians  were  in  total  rout, 
and  their  complete  dissipation  would  easily  bo  accomplished  by  Grouchy's 
division  (33,000  men),  which  he  had  sent  in  pursuit,  crossed  to  Quatre-Bras 
with  the  rest  of  his  troops,  and  uniting  with  Ney,  marched  hi  pursuit  of 
Wellington,  arriving  011  the  plain  of  Waterloo  in  the  ei  ening. 

The  two  armies  which  then  confronted  each  other,  though  nearly  equal 
in  strength,  were  composed  of  very  different  materials.  The  French  army, 
numbering  from  69,909  to  72,247  men  (according  to  French  authorities,  Eng- 
lish historians  varying  in  their  estimate  from  74,000  to  90,000,  though  its 
exact  strength  cannot  be  ascertained,  owing  to  the  loss  of  the  official  re- 
turns), was  composed  of  veteran  troops,  who  had  enthusiastically  ranked 
themselves  once  more  under  the  standard  of  the  chief  who  had  so  often  led 
them  to  victory.  The  Anglo-Netherlands  army,  which  numbered  69,894,  of 
•whom  only  25,389  were  British,  6,793  of  the  king's  German  legion,  10,995 
Hanoverians,  6,303  Brunswickers,  2,926  Nassauers,  and  17,488Netherlanders, 
consisted,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  number  of  Peninsular  veterans, 
wholly  of  young  soldiers,  a  larjre  Dronortioa  of  whom  had  never  been  under 


HISTORY.  63 


fire;  the  Hanoverians  were  only  militia,  some  of  them  being  fit  but  for  garri- 
son duty;  while  the  behavior  of  many  of  the  Belgian  troops  during  the  bat- 
tle showed  plainly  enough  that  they  mainly  increased  the  numei~iccd  strength 
of  the  army,  as  they  left  it  to  the  Dutch  soldiers  to  vindicate  the  wrongs  of 
the  Netherlands.  The  French  had  240,  while  their  opponents  had  only 
about  156  guns.  "With  such  an  army,  to  maintain  even  a  defensive  conflict 
with  an  army  of  veterans,  commanded  by  the  greatest  general  of  the  time, 
was  a  task  which  (laboring  under  a  mistake  as  to  the  exact  superiority  in 
number  of  his  opponents)  it  required  all  Wellington's  rare  tenacity  of  pur- 
pose to  undertake;  yet  undertake  it  he  did,  depending  on  Blucher's  promise 
to  join  him  an  hour  after  mid-day. 

On  the  morning  of  the  18th,  the  two  armies  found  themselves  ranged  in 
battle-array  opposite  each  other;  the  Allies,  posted  on  a  line  of  eminences, 
had  their  left  wing  resting  on  Frischermont,  the  farm-house  of  La  Haye 
Sainte  in  front  of  their  center,  while  their  right  wing  curved  convexly  round 
behind  Hougomont,  and  rested  on  Braine  Merbes,  The  French  were  ranged 
on  a  parallel  row  of  eminences,  having  La  Belle  Alliance  in  their  center, 
with  some  divisions  of  cavalry  and  infantry  in  reserve  behind  the  right  whig; 
Kellermann's  dragoons  behind  the  left  wing;  and  the  Guard,  stationed  with 
the  6th  corps,  in  the  rear.  Skirmishing  had  continued  all  the  morning;  but 
the  first  serious  attack  was  not  made  till  between  eleven  and  twelve,  when 
a  part  of  the  first  corps  advanced  against  Hougomont,  with  the  view  of 
masking  the  more  important  attack  to  be  made  against  the  allied  left. 
This  preliminary  assault,  however,  though  unsuccessful,  was  maintained 
with  great  vigor  for  a  considerable  time;  till  Napoleon,  dreading  a  further 
loss  of  time,  prepared  to  make  his  grand  attack  on  the  left  center.  At  this 
time  (half-past  one  p.  M.)  he  learned  that  the  advanced  guard  of  the  4th 
Prussian  corps  (Bulow's)  was  appearing  in  front  of  St.  Lambert,  two  or 
three  miles  to  his  right;  and  being  forced  to  detach  his  6th  corps  (Lobau's) 
with  the  reserves  of  cavalry  behind  his  right  wing,  to  keep  them  in  check, 
ho  had  to  modify  his  grand  plan  of  attack  on  the  Anglo-Netherlanders,  and 
accordingly  ordered  Ney  to  break  through  their  center.  At  two  p.  M.,  after 
a  furious  preliminary  cannonade,  from  which  Wellington  sheltered  his  men 
(as  at  various  other  times  during  the  battle),  by  retiring  them  to  the  reverse 
of  the  slope,  Ney  advanced  against  the  left  center  with  20,000  men,  but  had 
only  succeeded  in  putting  to  flight  a  Belgian  brigade,  when  he  was  attacked 
and  driven  back  by  Picton's  division,  his  retreating  columns  charged  and 
broken  by  the  English  cavalry,  and  2,000  prisoners  taken.  Nevertheless, 
after  a  brief  space,  Ney  returned  to  the  charge,  and  carried  La  Haye  Sainte, 
though  his  repeated  attacks  on  the  infantry  in  position  were  constantly  re- 
pulsed, and  his  retreating  columns  severely  handled  by  the  British  cavalry, 
who,  disordered  by  success,  were  as  often  overthrown  by  the  French  cuiras- 
siers. By  this  time  (half-past  four  p.  M.),  Bulow  had  succeeded  in  deploy- 
ing from  the  woods,  and,  advancing  against  Planchenoit,  in  the  rear  of  the 
French  right,  carried  it  after  a  vigorous  conflict.  Lobau's  corps,  however, 
aided  by  a  reinforcement  from  the  Guarl,  speedily  retook  the  post,  and 
driving  the  Prussians  back  into  the  wood,  secured  the  French  right  flank  for 
a  time;  Napoleon,  though  now  learning  that  another  Prussian  corps  (the  1st, 
under  Ziethen)  was  coming  up  by  Chain  to  join  the  Allied  left,  being  still 
confident  that  he  could  destroy  the  Anglo-Netherlanders  before  the  Prus- 
sians could  render  effective  aid.  During  the  conflict  with  Bulow,  Ney  had 
been  warmly  engaged  with  the  center  and  right  of  the  enemy,  who  had  made 
various  attempts  to  regain  the  wood  of  Ilougomont  and  La  Haye  Sainte,  and 


64         CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

had  supported  his  repeated  attacks  with  not  only  his  own  cavalry,  but  (by, 
at  any  rate,  the  "  tacit  consent "  of  the  Emperor)  with  the  cuirassiers,  lan- 
cers, and  chasseurs,  of  the  Guard,  and  the  whole  of  the  mounted  reserve, 
without,  however,  producing  any  result  other  than  a  great  slaughter  on  both 
Bides,  and  the  useless  sacrifice  of  18,000  of  the  finest  cavalry  ever  seen. 
Napoleon  now  resolved  on  another  vehement  assault  on  the  immovable 
British  center,  and  directed  against  it  in  succession  two  columns,  one  com- 
posed of  four  battalions  of  the  Middle  Guard,  and  the  other  of  four  battalions 
of  the  Middle  and  two  of  the  Old  Guard,  supporting  them  with  flank  attacks 
of  other  infantry  divisions,  of  cavalry  and  with  a  dreadful  fire  of  artillery. 
The  advancing  French  were  met  with  a  well-sustained  fire  from  every  piece 
which  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them;  the  first  attacking  column  was 
fairly  driven  down  the  slope  by  the  English  Guards,  and  the  second  was  to- 
tally routed  by  a  bayonet-charge  of  Adam's  brigade,  the  British  cavalry  fol- 
lowing up  the  fugitives.  Ziethen  hadnow  (seven  p.  M.)  joined  the  left  of  the 
English  line;  Bulow,  further  reinforced,  had  carried  Planchenoit,  and  was 
driving  the  French  right  wing  before  him;  and  the  combined  attack  on  the 
retiring  masses  of  the  French  by  the  whole  effective  force  of  the  Anglo- 
Netherlanders  on  the  one  side,  and  of  the  Prussian  cavalry  on  the  other, 
converted  an  ordinary,  though  severe  defeat  into  a  rout  unparalleled  in  his- 
tory. The  magnificent  cavalry,  wantonly  destroyed  by  Ney  in  fruitless  at- 
tacks upon  an  "  impracticable  "  infantry,  would  then  have  been  of  incalcu- 
lable service,  but  they  were  no  longer  to  be  had.  The  last  square  of  the 
Guard  still  stood  its  ground,  to  protect  the  flight  of  the  Emperor;  but  it  was 
speedily  surrounded,  and  on  the  soldier-like  refusal  of  Cambronne  to  sur- 
render, was  in  a  moment  pierced  through,  and  broken  to  pieces.  From  this 
time  all  resistance  was  over;  the  roads  southwards,  especially  that  to  Ge- 
nappes,  were  crowded  with  fugitives  fleeing  for  their  lives  from  the  pursu- 
ing cavalry;  and  though  the  English  light  cavalry,  exhausted  with  their 
severe  work  during  the  battle,  soon  ceased  the  pursuit,  it  was  kept  up  with 
great  energy  throughout  the  whole  night  by  the  Prussian  troopers,  who 
'seemed  bent  upon  at  once  avenging  the  defeats  of  Jena,  Auerstadt,  and 
Ligny,  and  glutted  their  fierce  animosity  by  an  indiscriminate  slaughter. 
The  total  loss  in  this  battle  was,  from  the  obstinacy  and  determination  with 
which  it  was  contested,  necessarily  large;  the  figures  are:  British  and  Han- 
overians, 11,678,  Brunswickers,  687;  Nassauers,  643;  Netherlanders,  3,178;  a 
total  of  16,186,  which,  added  to  6,999  Prussians,  gives  the  aggregate  allied 
loss,  23,185.  The  French  had  18,500  killed  and  wounded;  7,800  prisoners 
(some  French  accounts  raise  the  total  list  of  hors  de  combat  to  32,000),  and 
227  cannon  captured. 

The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. — In  order  to  properly  under- 
stand the  events  that  led  to  the  great  political  and  ecclesiastical  crime  of 
1572  a  short  review  of  the  three  preceding  reigns  is  necessary.  French- 
men still  look  back  with  pride  to  the  memory  of  Francis  I.  A  king  of  great 
virtues  and  equally  great  vices,  of  noble  aspirations  but  of  ignoble  passions, 
never  bigoted  except  when  frightened  by  priests,  the  friend  of  painter  and 
scholar,  but  dying  at  last  from  a  disgusting  malady  brought  on  by  his  licen- 
tious amours. 

In  15M  Francis  chanced  to  be  ill  of  a  dangerous  malady.  The  bigoted 
Cardinal  de  Touruon  persuaded  him  that  his  illness  was  a  judgment  of  God 
to  punish  him  for  not  extirpating  heresy  in  France,  and  the  king  ordered  the 
Waldenses  of  Provence  to  bo  exterminated  as  a  cure  for  his  malady.  Thie 


HISTORY.  65 

peaceable,  industrkma  and  God-fearing  race  bad  been  a  living  protest 
against  the  church  of  Homo  for  hundreds  of  years,  but  now  an  expedition 
was  sent  among  them  commanded  by  John  Meuier,  Baron  of  Opede,  who 
declared,  "  I  know  how  to  treat  those  people;  I  will  send  them  one  and  all 
to  hell."  So  far  as  lay  in  his  power  he  fulfilled  his  word  by  murdering  3,000 
people  and  burning  twenty-four  villages.  The  tale  of  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted in  Provence  awoke  a  cry  of  indignation  from  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other,  and  the  cloud  of  religious  war  that  was  already  hovering  over 
France  grew  black  and  ominous. 

Francis  was  succeeded  by  his  second  sou  Henry,  who  ascended  the 
throne  in  15-17.  Henry's  queen  was  the  celebrated  Catherine  de'  Medici,  of 
whom  we  shall  hear  more  hereafter.  He  was  a  prince  of  dull  and  common- 
place intellect,  chiefly  distinguished  for  his  skill  iu  the  tournaments. 

During  this  reign  the  reformed  religion  spread  rapidly,  although  the 
edicts  against  dissenters  were  enforced  with  great  severity.  In  Poitou  and 
Anjou  the  fires  of  persecution  blazed  so  fiercely  that  the  Reformers  medi- 
tated taking  up  arms,  but  were  dissuaded  from  so  doing  by  their  leader 
Calvin. 

France  was  at  war  with  Spain  during  a  great  part  of  this  reign.  After 
the  fall  of  St.  Quentin,  at  which  Admiral  Coligny — so  famous  both  for  the 
greatness  of  his  character  and  from  the  fact  that  he  was  the  first  victim  of 
the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  —was  taken  prisoner,  peace  was  concluded 
on  the  3rd  of  April,  1559.  William  of  Orange  was  sent  as  a  hostage  to  Paris 
by  the  King  of  Spain,  and  one  day  while  hunting  in  a  forest,  the  King  con- 
fided to  him  a  plan  he  had  formed  for  the  extermination  of  the  Huguenots  at 
a  single  blow.  From  the  taciturnity  and  presence  of  mind  with  which  he 
received  so  startling  a  revelation,  the  liberator  of  the  Netherlands  received 
the  title  of  William,  the  Silent.  This  is  ample  proof  that  the  great  massacre 
was  contemplated  as  early  as  1559,  although  two  kings  died  and  thirteen 
years  rolled  away  before  its  execution. 

In  June  an  edict  was  issued  more  severe  than  any  that  had  gone  before. 
By  it,  all  convicted  Lutherans  were  to  be  punished  with  instant  death  with- 
out chance  cf  remission.  There  is  but  little  doubt  that  if  this  decree  had 
been  enforced  as  Henry  intended  it  should  be,  Protestantism  would  have 
been  crushed  out  of  France  as  it  was  of  Spain.  But  this  was  not  to  be. 
During  the  same  month,  at  a  grand  tournament,  the  king  was  wounded  in 
the  eye  by  a  splinter  from  a  lance.  The  wound  waa  mortal,  and  on  the  10th 
of  July,  1559,  the  sceptre  of  Franco  fell  from  the  dead  hand  of  Henry  the 
Second. 

Francis  the  Second,  a  youth  of  weak  body  and  dull  intellect,  the  eldest 
son  of  Henry,  and  husband  of  the  unfortunate  and  beautiful  Mary  of  Scot- 
land, ascended  his  father's  throne  on  the  10th  of  July,  1559,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen. His  mother,  Catherine  de'  Medici,  who  had  remained  in  the  back- 
ground during  the  reign  of  Henry,  now  became  one  of  the  chief  political 
forces  of  the  kingdom.  It  now  became  evident  that  she  was  a  consummate 
mistress  of  the  art  of  political  intrigue,  by  her  success  in  playing  the  rival 
houses  of  Guise  and  Bourbon  one  against  the  other.  The  Guises  being  at 
this  time  most  in  favor  of  the  King,  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to  accomplish 
their  overthrow.  It  failed,  however,  and  was  followed  by  another  wholesale 
butchery,  chiefly  instigated  by  the  Duke  of  Guise  and  his  brother,  the 
Cardinal  of  Lorraine.  The  cruelties  practiced  at  this  "  massacre  of  Am- 
broise,"  as  it  is  called,  had  so  exasperated  the  people,  and  the  symptoms  of 
a  general  outbreak  of  the  HuerueuaifL  who  liad  now  become  very  powerful, 


66        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

were  so  alarming,  that  the  Government  was  forced  to  make  concessions.  Am 
edict  was  published  making  the  bishops  and  clergy  the  sole  judges  for 
offences  against  religion,  which  had  the  practical  effect  of  preventing  the 
establishment  of  the  inquisition  in  France,  and  the  Slates-General  were  con- 
voked for  the  first  time  in  seventy-six  years.  The  cause  of  the  reformers 
was  eloquently  advocated  by  the  Admiral  Coligny,  who  presented  a  petition 
from  the  Huguenots,  asserting  their  love  for  the  King,  but  praying  that  a 
stop  be  put  to  the  cruel  persecutions  under  which  they  were  suffering,  and 
for  permission  to  read  the  Bible,  and  hold  Hieir  meetings  in  the  open  day. 
"But  your  petition,"  said  Francis,  "has  no  signatures."  "That  is  true, 
eire,"  replied  Coligny,  "  but  if  you  will  allow  us  to  meet  for  the  purpose,  I 
•will  in  one  day  obtain  in  Normandy  alone  50,000  signatures."  "  And  I,"  in- 
terrupted the  Duke  of  Guise,  "  will  find  100,000  good  Catholics  to  break 
their  heads." 

Louis,  Prince  of  Conde,  and  Henry,  King  of  Navarre,  who  had  been  se- 
cretly allied  with  the  reformers,  were  at  this  time  under  sentence  of  death, 
and  were  only  saved  by  the  timely  death  of  the  King,  which  took  place  ou 
the  5th  of  December,  1560,  after  a  reign  of  eighteen  months,  the  shortest  in 
French  annals. 

Francis,  dying  childless,  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Charles,  a  child 
of  ten  years.  Catherine  now  assumed  as  her  right,  the  exercise  of  sovereign 
power  in  the  name  of  her  son.  Her  first  act  was  to  divide  the  great  offices 
between  the  families  of  Guise  and  Bourbon,  her  object  being  to  hold  the  bal- 
ance evenly  between  them.  This  and  other  well-intentioned  acts  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  were  rendered  fruitless  by  the  intensity  of  the  hatred 
between  the  rival  religions.  Disturbances  were  general  throughout  tho 
kingdom,  and  the  furious  fanaticism  of  both  sides  found  many  victims. 
The  civil  war  which  had  long  been  imminent,  was  precipitated  by  what  is 
called  tho  "Massacre  of  Vassy."  The  Duke  of  Guise,  traveling  with  a  re- 
tinue of  200  armed  gentlemen,  stopped  at  the  little  town  of  Vassy,  in  Cham- 
pagne, where,  the  day  being  Sunday,  Protestants  were  assembled  for  divine 
worship.  By  the  Duke's  order,  his  attendants  tried  to  disperse  the  gather- 
ing. They  resisted,  and  an  unequal  conflict  ensued.  The  Duke  was  struck 
on  the  cheek  by  a  stone,  whereupon  his  enraged  soldiers  fired  upon  the  un- 
armed multitude,  killing  sixty  and  wounding  over  200.  The  Huguenots 
now  rushed  to  arms,  and  France  became  the  theatre  of  civil  war.  Under 
their  leaders,  Coligny  and  the  Prince  of  Conde,  they  fought  with  varying  suc- 
cess until  a  peace  was  concluded  in  1563,  by  which  they  obtained  permission 
to  worship  in  the  houses  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  m  one  to*n  in  every 
Bailliage.  This  was,  however,  of  short  duration.  Some  conferences  be- 
tween Catherine  and  her  daughter  Elizabeth,  wife  of  the  King  of  Spain,  to- 
gether with  the  reports  of  the  atrocities  committed  by  the  Duke  of  Alva  in 
the  Netherlands,  excited  the  suspicions  of  the  Huguenots,  and  in  1567,  war 
was  recommenced  by  an  attempt  on  their  part  to  sieze  the  King  and  his 
family,  with  a  view  to  a  complete  change  of  Government.  With  tho  excep- 
tion of  a  short  truce  in  1568-'9,  the  combat  raged  until  1570.  At  first  the 
Huguenots  met  with  many  disasters,  but  the  tide  of  battle  turned  and  their 
successes  in  the  campaign  of  1570,  secured  for  them  the  treaty  of  St.  Ger- 
main, by  which  they  obtained  tho  free  exercise  of  their  religion  throughout 
the  kingdom,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  capital;  they  were  admitted 
on  equal  terms  with  the  Catholics  to  all  professions  and  public  employments, 
and  restitution  was  granted  for  all  forfeited  offices  and  confiscated  property. 

The  Huguenote  were  now  lulled  into  temporary  security  by  the  efforts  of 


HISTORY.  67 

the  courts  to  mitigate  the  bitter  hostility  of  parties.  Admiral  Coligny  had  at 
last  overcome  his  deep-seated  distrust,  and  repaired  to  Blois,  where  he  was 
received  by  the  young  King  with  open  arms. 

However,  the  favor  and  ascendency  of  the  Protestants  served  only  to  in- 
tensify tho  hatred  of  the  Catholic  party,  and  it  was  apparent  to  many  that  a 
crisis  waa  approaching.  The  sudden  death  of  the  queen  of  Navarre,  under 
strong  suspicion  of  poison,  so  alarmed  the  reformers  that  many  fled  from 
Paris.  Coligny  still  remained,  in  spite  of  tho  remonstrances  of  his  friends. 
Early  in  the  summer  of  1572,  an  expedition  to  the  Netherlands  was  fitted  out 
under  his  direction,  by  whichjnany  important  places  were  taken,  but  a  re- 
verse occurring,  the  council  were  divided  on  the  course  to  be  pursued. 
The  Admiral  and  his  adherents  demanded  an  immediate  declaration  of  war 
with  Spain.  Catherine  and  the  Guises  ranged  themselves  on  the  opposing 
side,  and  thus  becoming  in  direct  collision  with  Coligny,  determined  on  his 
death.  It  was  arranged  that  he  should  be  assassinated  by  some  retainer  of 
tho  Guises.  This  would  produce  an  insurrection  of  the  Huguenots  to 
avenge  his  death,  whereupon  tho  populace  of  Paris  were  to  be  instigated  tf 
rise  and  exterminate  tho  weaker  party  in  a  wholesale  massacre. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  the  marriage  of  Henry  of  Navarre  and  Margare 
ofYaloistook  place,  and  aroused  popular  commotion  to  the  highest  pitch. 
Strange  and  fearful  rumors  of  impending  calamity  gained  ground  in  the 
capital.  Three  days  after,  as  the  Admiral  was  returning  from  the  Louvre, 
he  was  fired  at  from  a  window  by  an  agent  of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  and 
wounded  in  the  head  and  arm.  When  the  news  was  brought  to  Charles,  he 
exclaimed  passionately,  "  Am  I  never  to  be  left  in  peace  ?  "  but  went  ai 
once  to  see  his  wounded  friend  to  assure  him  of  his  affection,  and  that  he 
would  at  once  exact  a  signal  vengeance  for  the  outrage.  Coligny  com- 
plained bitterly  of  the  malign  influence  of  Catherine,  and  urged  the  King  to 
deprive  her  of  power,  offering  the  aid  of  the  whole  Protestant  party  to  effect 
this  purpose.  The  conspirators  were  now  struck  with  consternation.  Their 
first  blow  had  failed,  lor  the  Admiral's  wounds  were  not  dangerous,  and 
they  were  menaced  with  exposure  and  ruin.  After  an  agitated  consultation, 
they  went  in  a  body  to  the  King,  and  conjuring  up  before  him  dreadful  vis- 
ions of  renewed  civil  war,  revolution,  foreign  aggression  and  personal  vio- 
lence, urged  him  to  consent  to  the  death  of  the  Admiral  and  other  leaders 
of  the  Huguenots.  Tho  monarch  yielded,  after  a  long  and  painful  struggle. 
Starting  up  suddenly  in  one  of  those  transports  of  delirious  fury  to  which  he 
was  subject,  he  ordered,  with  fearful  execrations,  that  since  it  was  neces- 
sary to  shed  the  blood  of  the  Admiral,  not  a  Huguenot  should  be  left  alive 
in  his  kingdom  to  reproach  him  with  the  deed. 

On  tbe  Feast  of  St.  Bartholomew,  August  24th,  1572,  the  great  bell  ol 
St.  Germain  1'Aiixerrois  rang  out  at  the  unwonted  hour  of  two  in  the  morn- 
ing. This  was  the  appointed  signal.  It  was  instantly  repeated  from  all  the 
steeples  of  the  capital.  Lights  were  suddenly  shown  in  every  window.  The 
assassins,  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  distinguished  by  white  crosses  in  theii 
hats,  swarmed  forth  from  their  lurking  places  in  every  quarter  of  Paris,  and 
tho  work  of  death  began.  The  first  victim  was  the  illustrious  Coligny. 
The  wounded  Admiral  was  awakened  by  tumultuous  knocking,  and  voicei 
crying,  "Open  in  the  King's  name!"  The  Dukes  of  Guise  and  Aumale. 
with  a  band  of  myrmidons  were  at  the  gate.  The  frightened  servants  raij 
to  see  what  caused  the  tumult.  Some  were  killed  and  some  escaped  up^ 
stairs  and  barricaded  the  doors  with  furniture.  Coligny,  who  was  alone 
with  Ambroise  Pare  the  surgeon,  knew  well  the  meaning  of  the  uproar,  and 


68         CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

yet  remained  as  calm  as  though  no  danger  was  impending.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments the  feeble  barrier  was  dashed  aside,  and  a  band  of  ruffians  entered, 
one  of  whom,  advancing  his  sword  to  the  breast  of  the  wounded  man,  ex- 
claimed, "Are  you  not  the  Admiral?"  The  answer  was,  "I  am;  but, 
young  man,  you  should  respect  my  grey  hairs  and  not  attack  a  wounded 
man.  But  what  matters  it  ?  You  cannot  shorten  my  life  except  by  God's 
permission,"  The  German  soldier  with  an  execration,  plunged  his  sword 
into  the  old  hero's  breast,  and  his  body  was  thrown  from  a  window  to  Henry 
of  Guise,  who  was  waiting  below,  and  who  refused  to  take  any  evidence  but 
that  of  his  senses,  that  his  great  enemy  was  dead. 

When  the  harsh  sound  rang  from  the  belfry  of  St.  Germain  PAuxerrois, 
it  was  caught  up  and  echoed  from  tower  to  tower,  rousing  all  Paris  from 
their  slumbers.  Immsdiately  from  every  quarter  of  that  ancient  city,  up- 
rose a  tumult  as  of  hell.  Tho  clanging  bell,  the  crashing  doors,  the  mus- 
ket shots,  the  rush  of  armed  men,  the  shrieks  of  their  victims,  and  high 
over  all  the  yells  of  the  mob,  fiercer  and  more  pitiless  than  hungry  wolves, 
made  such  an  uproar  that  the  stoutest  hearts  shrank  appalled,  and  the  most 
sane  appeared  to  have  lost  their  reason.  Women  uusexed,  men  wanting 
everything  but  the  strength  of  wild  beasts,  children  without  a  single  charm 
of  youth  or  innocence,  crowded  the  streets  where  the  rising  day  still  struggled 
with  the  glare  of  a  thousand  torches.  They  smelled  the  odor  of  blood,  and 
thirsting  to  indulge  their  passions  for  once  with  impunity,  committed  hor- 
rors that  have  become  a  marvel  of  history. 

Within  the  walls  of  the  Louvre,  and  in  the  hearing  of  Charles  and  his 
mother,  if  not  actually  in  their  sight,  was  enacted  one  of  the  most  foul 
scenes  of  this  detestable  tragedy.  A  list  of  the  names  of  the  Huguenot  gen- 
tlemen in  attendance  on  the  King  of  Navarre  was  read,  and  as  each  man 
answered  to  his  name,  he  was  forced  to  step  into  a  courtyard,  where  sword 
and  spear  made  short  work  of  him.  Thus  perished  200  of  the  best  blood  of 
France. 

The  houses  in  which  the  Huguenots  lodged  were  easily  known,  having 
"been  registered.  The  soldiers  burst  into  them,  killing  all  they  found,  with- 
out regard  to  age  or  sex,  and  if  any  escaped  to  the  roof,  they  were  shot  down 
like  pigeons.  Daylight  served  to  facilitate  a  work  too  foul  even  lor  the 
blackest  midnight.  Ilcstraint  of  evory^  kind  was  thrown  aside,  and  while 
men  were  victims  of  bigoted  fury,  the  women  were  exposed  to  violence  unut- 
terable. Marshal  Tavannes,  the  military  director  of  this  deed  of  treachery, 
rode  the  streets  with  drip*ping  sword,  shouting,  "Kill,  kill!  the  doctors  say 
that  blood-letting  is  as  gool  in  August  as  in  May."  In  making  his  dying 
confession,  this  Tavanues  was  reminded  that  he  had  made  no  allusion  to 
St.  Bartholomew's  day.  "  That,"  he  replied,  "  I  look  upon  as  a  meritorious 
action,  which  ought  to  atone  for  all  the  sins  of  my  life."  Such  was  the 
spirit  that  animated  the  sectaries  of  the  16th  century. 

The  massacre  soon  exceeded  the  bounds  anticipated  by  the  conspirators. 
Toward  evening  the  King  gave  orders  to  put  a  stop  to  the  bloody  work,  but 
it  was  found  that  the  demons  he  had  iinchained  were  not  so  easily  appeased, 
and  the  carnage  continued  unabated  during  several  days.  Similar  enormi- 
ties were  committed  in  all  the  more  important  provincial  towns,  the  history 
of  which  would  far  exceed  the  limit  assigned  to  this  article.  The  whole 
number  who  perished  is  given  by  the  most  trustworthy  authorities  as  about 
20,000. 

There  were  great  rejoicings  in  Rome,  and  at  the  court  of  Spain,  when  the 
pews  wag  received,  but  it  sent  %  thrill  of  horror  through  Protestant  England, 


HISTORY.  69 

and  it  was  some  days  before  the  French  Ambassador  vas  received  at  court 
there.  On  his  deathbed,  Charles  is  said  to  have  suffered  great  agonies  of 
remorse  over  the  cruelties  that  had  disgraced  his  reign. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  history  teaches  the 
lesson  that  such  violent  measures  almost  always  operate  for  the  cause  that 
they  are  directed  against.  In  less  than  a  year  the  Huguenots  had  recov- 
ered from  their  temporary  demoralization,  and  were  in  position  to  address 
the  King  in  bolder  and  more  importunate  language  than  ever  before,  and 
soon  a  third  and  more  powerful  party  was  formed  by  a  coalition  of  the 
Huguenots  and  moderate  catholics. 

As  a  purely  gratuitotis  massacre,  the  Feast  of  St.  Bartholomew  remains 
without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  The  Greeks  of  Lesser  Asia 
rose  and  slew  80,000  Romans  living  among  them,  the  Britons  massacred 
whole  settlements  of  the  invading  Danes,  and  at  the  Sicilian  vespers  20,000 
French  were  put  to  death  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex.  But  these 
massacres  were  all  committed  in  the  name  of  freedom — to  drive  out  a  for- 
eign conqueror,  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  an  invader.  The  motives  that  ani- 
mated the  conspirators  in  Paris  were  of  the  lowest  kind — envy,  jealousy, 
greed,  ambition. 

The  Inquisition  or  Holy  Office. — Carlyle  has  somewhere  noted  in 
dispraise  of  written  history,  that  those  facts  are  more  often  preserved  which 
tend  to  retard  the  progress  of  civilization,  than  those  other  which  aid  in  its 
advancement.  As  such,  he  speaks  of  the  records  of  wars,  conquests,  cruel- 
ties and  persecutions.  But  while  we  own  with  candor  the  over  fondness  of 
the  human  mind  for  the  dramatic  and  thrilling  incidents  contained  in  such 
records,  we  cannot  for  a  moment  deny  their  iustructiveness  and  value. 

The  history  of  the  institution  of  which  wo  purpose  to  write,  is  one  replete 
with  horrors.  From  a  thousand  blazing  piles  of  fagots,  we  may  yet  hear 
the  pain- wrung  cries  of  women,  men  and  children  that  were  uttered  three 
centuries  or  more  ago.  For  most  of  them  a  word  would  have  purchased 
absolution,  but  that  word  was  false,  and  remained  unspoken.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  astonishing  fortitude  of  human  beings  perishing,  for  a  principle, 
by  the  most  painful  processes  that  human  ingenuity,  aided  by  the  most  in- 
veterate hate  and  fanaticism  could  devise.  On  the  other,  the  persecutor, 
trained  by  tradition  and  by  education,  to  believe  hia  trade  in  truth  a  "  holy 
office,"  and  one  deserving  the  richest  rewards  of  «»rth,  the  most  felicitous 
enjoyments  of  heaven.  For  few,  we  must  believe,  acted  from  the  pure  love 
of  cruelty.  The  powers  that  were,  doubtless,  knew  how  to  select  their  in- 
struments, and  chose  men  of  a  hard  and  ambitious  cast  of  character.'  But 
that  these  were  actuated  largely  by  a  sense  of  duty,  and  of  the  importance 
of  preserving  intact  the  tenets  of  the  mother  church,  we  cannot  doubt.  Did 
these  events  retard  the  progress  of  civilization  ?  Was  not  the  progress  of 
civilization  and  of  the  Reformation  the  same  ?  Does  not  history  teach  that 
principle  and  sect  thrive  best  when  persecuted  ?  The  light  of  reason  was 
shining  there,  though  forced  to  hide  and  tremble,  and  what  was  still  more 
potent  for  good  to  the  cause  of  Luther,  and  of  Calvin,  the  great  heart  of  the 
people  of  Europe  was  rightly  placed,  and  pity  dwelt  there  as  it  does  in  the 
hearts  of  men  to-day.  We  may  not  lightly  conclude  bat  that  the  baleful 
fires  of  Torquemada  did  as  much  to  aid  the  onward  movement  of  the  Refor- 
mation, as  did  the  iniquitous  sale  of  indulgences,  to  secure  its  birth. 

From  its  early  ages,  the  Christian  church  had  claimed  the  right  to  not 
only  look  after  the  spiritual  welfare,  but  to  inquire  into  the  doctrinal  sound- 


70        CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

ness  of  all  people  where  it  was  established,  and  laws  more  or  less  rigorous 
existed  for  the  punishment  of  all  dissenters  from  the  national  creed.  Dur- 
ing the  reigns  of  Theodosius  and  Justinian,  officials  called  Inquisitors  were 
appointed,  whoso  duty  it  was  to  cite  persons  suspected  of  heresy  before  the 
civil  tribunals. 

Their  sentences  usually  took  some  mild  form  of  ecclesiastical  censure, 
although  occasional  cruelties  were  practiced.  During  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries,  however,  the  spread  of  certain  sects  known  as  the  Cathari, 
Waldenses,  and  Albigenses,  alarmed  the  church  authorities,  and  measures 
were  taken  to  perfect  the  inquisatorial  system  for  the  suppression  of  heresy. 
In  1248,  under  Pope  Innocent  IV,  the  form  of  the  institution  was  changed 
from  that  of  a  local  tribunal,  for  the  suppression  of  certain  sects  as  they 
arose,  to  that  of  a  permanent  establishment,  to  be  introduced  into  the  differ- 
ent countries  where  the  Papal  power  was  recognized.  Thus  constituted, 
and  under  the  Dominican  order  of  monks,  it  was  introduced  into  Italy, 
Spain,  Germany  and  the  southern  provinces  of  France. 

The  operation  of  the  inquisition  was  as  follows:  In  each  parish  a  number 
of  persona  were  sworn  to  give  information  of  all  who  were  suspected  of  hold- 
ing heretical  opinions,  who  attended  secret  meetings,  or  departed  in  any  way 
trom  the  established  customs  of  the  church.  In  some  cases,  nearly  all  the 
inhabitants  of  a  parish  were  thus  made  sworn  informers.  Any  person  re- 
fusing to  qualify  as  an  informer,  by  taking  the  oath,  was  himstlf  suspected 
of  heresy.  To  conceal  the  crime  of  others  was  punished  by  confiscation  of 
property,  and  deprivation  of  office. 

Persons  suspected  were  reported  to  the  bishops.  They  were  then 
thrown  into  prison,  to  be  released  for  trial  at  the  pleasure  of  the  judges. 
In  case  of  inactivity  on  the  part  of  the  bishops,  they  might  be  deprived  of 
office  by  the  Legates  of  the  Pope,  by  whom  the  process  of  extirpation  was 
controlled.  The  accused,  when  brought  to  trial,  was  not  confronted  with 
his  accusers,  nor  were  their  names  made  known  to  him.  The  evidence  of 
an  accomplice  was  admissible,  and  the  accused  himself  was  often  put  to  the 
torture  to  extort  a  confession  from  him.  If  found  guilty,  be  was  liable  to 
death  by  fire  or  the  scaffold,  imprisonment  in  the  galleys  for  life,  or  for  a 
limited  period,  forfeiture  of  property,  civil  infamy,  or  in  minor  cases,  re- 
I  raction  and  public  penance.  He  who  concealed  the  guilty,  was  regarded  as 
I  in  offender  of  the  gravest  kind,  and  was  punished  by  the  confiscation  of  his 
property,  and  deprivation  of  office.  In  sickness,  no  medical  attendance  was 
permitted  them,  and  they  were  forced  to  depart  from  their  homes  clad  in  a 
jarb  betokening  their  infamy. 

All  these  conditions  the  Papal  authority  had  power  to  enforce.  The 
agents  of  the  Pope  were  well  chosen.  The  emoluments  of  their  office  were 
isnormous,  and  from  their  greed  and  zealous  eagerness  in  performing  the 
duties  assigned  to  them,  they  earned  the  punning  title,  on  the  name  of 
their  order,  of  "  Domini  Canes,"  or  dogs  of  the  Lord.  The  character  of 
some  of  the  Papal  legates  may  fairly  be  estimated  by  an  incident  in  south- 
ern France. 

During  the  first  part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  Papal  Legate  and  in- 
quisitor, Peter  of  Caatelnau,  who  had  been  commissioned  to  extirpate  heresy 
ia  the  dominions  of  Count  Raymond  VI  of  Toulouse,  was  murdered.  A 
cruBade  was  undertaken,  under  the  direction  of  Legates  Arnold  and  Milo, 
lad  under  the  military  conduct  of  Simon  of  Monfort.  The  ostensible  object 
of  the  expedition  was  to  revengro  the  death  of  Peter,  but  its  real  purpose  waa 
to  punish  Count  Raymond,  who  had  become  an  object  of  hatred  to  the  Papal 


HISTORY.  Tl 

authorities,  by  his  toleration  of  the  Albigenses  in  his  domain.  It  was  in 
vain  that  the  Count  submitted  to  the  most  humiliating  penance  and  flagella- 
tion at  the  hands  of  Milo.  The  town  *f  Beziers  was  taken  by  storm,  and 
twenty  (some  authorities  say  forty)  thousand  people,  both  Catholic  and 
heretics,  were  massacred.  "  Kill  them  all,"  said  Legate  Arnold,  "  God 
will  know  his  own." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century,  the  arrogance  and  avarice  of  the 
Eomish  church  had  reached  a  point  at  which  the  movement,  which  was  to 
undermine  its  temporal  power,  was  inevitable.  Wycliffe  in  England,  Jerome 
of  Prague,  and  HUBS,  the  Bohemian  martyr,  were  beginning  to  strike  the 
chords  of  awakening  reason.  But  the  overbearing  spirit  of  the  church  was 
too  strong  for  the  reforming  spirit  in  its  early  manifestations.  In  the  midst 
of  his  evangelical  activity,  Husa  was  betrayed,  through  promise  of  a  safe- 
conduct,  into  making  his  appearance  at  the  council  of  Constance  in  1414. 
No  sooner  was  he  fairly  in  the  power  of  the  council,  than  he  was  confronted 
with  certain  articles  of  abjuration,  and  refusing  to  submit  without  being 
convinced,  he  was,  in  defiance  of  the  promise  made  to  him,  condemned  to 
be  burned  as  a  heretic.  The  rising  spirit  of  the  Reformation  was  for  a  mo- 
ment quenched  in  the  flames  that  consumed  the  intrepid  martyr  of  Bo- 
hemia. 

A  little  further  on,  the  sale  of  indulgences,  by  which  the  church  granted 
absolution  and  release  from  the  pains  of  purgatory  for  all  crimes  committed, 
or  to  be  committed,  by  any  persons  who  would  pay  to  the  church  a  fixed 
sum  of  money,  awoke  from  a  life  of  asceticism,  that  leading  spirit  of  the 
Reformation,  Martin  Luther.  From  his  fiery  utterances,  the  movement 
spread  rapidly  through  Germany,  and  obtained  a  foothold  in  different  parta 
of  Hurope.  For  the  first  time  the  Papal  throne  was  made  to  tremble.  Here 
was  a  spirit  not  to  be  intimidated.  A  Papal  bull,  that  fearful  instrument 
that  had  made  so  many  kings  bow  their  heads  in  submission,  was  by  him 
publicly  burned  at  the  gate  of  Wittenberg.  Translations  of  the  Scriptures 
were  being  made,  and  although  fiercely  condemned  by  the  church,  found 
many  secret  hiding-places. 

Against  this  rising  spirit  were  set  to  work  all  the  intricate  and  deadly 
machinery  of  the  inquisition.  Volume!  would  be  required  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  struggle  in  all  the  different  countries  of  Europe.  We  will  con- 
fine ourselves  to  some  transactions  in  Spain,  and  in  the  Netherlands. 

In  Spam,  the  office  of  Inquisator-General  was  first  filled  by  Thomas  de 
Torquemada,  a  friar  of  the  Dominican  order,  whose  cruelties  have  made  the 
name  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  infamous  in  history.  During  the  sixteen 
years  of  his  tenure  of  office,  9,000  persons  perished  in  the  flames.  % 

The  ceremony  preceding  these  executions  was  called  an  Auto  da  Fe,  or 
Act  of  Faith,  and  was  often  attended  by  the  King  and  first  grandees  of  Spain. 
It  was  held  on  a  Sunday  or  Holy-day.  At  dawn  the  dismal  tolling  of  the 
great  bell  of  the  high  church,  gave  the  signal  to  begin  the  drama  of  the  day. 
The  procession  was  led  by  the  Dominicans,  carrying  the  flag  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. Next  followed  the  penitents  on  whom  only  penance  had  been  laid. 
Behind  them,  and  separated  by  a  great  croea  which  was  borne  befere,  came 
those  condemned  to  death  —bare-foot,  clad  in  the  aan-benito  and  with  a 
pointed  cap  upon  their  heads;  then  effigies  of  the  fugitives;  and  lastly  tke 
bones  of  dead  culprits,  in  black  coffins,  painted  with  flames  and  hellish  »ym- 
bols.  The  frightful  train  was  closed  by  an  army  of  priests  and  monka.  Tha 
procession  went  through  the  principal  streets  to  the  church,  where,  after  & 
sermon  on  the  true  faith,  sentence  was  pronounced.  A  few  hours  after- 


72        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

wards,  they  were  brought  to  the  place  of  execution.  Tf  they  yet,  at  the  List, 
made  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith,  they  were  HO  far  favored  as  to  be  first 
strangled;  otherwise  they  were  burned  alive. 

In  IS'tO,  Francisco  San-Roman,  a  native  of  Burgos,  was  sent  by  his  em- 
ployers to  Bremen,  to  transact  some  business.  While  there,  he  became  a 
convert  to  the  reformed  doctrines.  Some  Lutheran  books  being  found  in 
his  possession,  ho  was  seized  and  thrown  into  prison,  where  he  remained 
for  eight  months.  Afterwards,  for  a  too  free  avowal  of  his  sentiments  on 
the  occasion  of  an  introduction  to  the  Emperor  Charles,  he  was  again  de- 
livered over  to  the  Inquisition  at  Valladolid.  When  brought  before  the  in- 
quisitors, he  frankly  avowed  his  belief  in  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  re- 
formers, and  pronounced  the  mass,  auricular  confession,  purgatory,  the  in- 
vocation of  saints,  and  worshiping  of  images,  to  be  a  blasphemy  against  the 
living  God.  He  refused  at  the  place  of  execution  to  purchase  a  mitigation 
of  punishment,  by  confessing  to  "a  priest,  or  bowing  to  a  crucifix  which  was 
placed  before  him.  When  the  flames  first  reached  him,  he  made  an  invol- 
untary motion  of  his  head,  and  the  friars  exclaimed  that  he  had  become 
penitent,  and  ordered  him,  to  be  brought  from  the  fire.  On  recovering  his 
breath,  he  looked  them  calmly  in  the  face  and  asked,  "Did  you  envy  my 
happiness  ?  "  at  which  he  was  thrust  back  into  the  flames  and  almost  in- 
stantly suffocated . 

The  second  Auto  da  Fe  in  Valladolid,  took  place  on  the  8th  of  October, 
1559.  Twenty-nine  prisoners  appeared  on  the  scaffold,  of  whom  sixteen  wore 
the  garb  of  penitents,  while  the  flames  painted  on  the  san-benitos  of  the  re- 
mainder, marked  them  out  for  the  stake.  At  the  head  of  those  devoted  \o 
death  was  Don  Carlos  de  Seso.  Arrested  at  Logrono,  he  was  thrown  into 
the  secret  prison  of  the  Inquisition,  and  on  the  28th  of  June,  1558.  answered 
the  interrogatories  of  the  fiscal.  His  conduct  during  the  whole  of  his  im- 
prisonment and  in  the  terrible  scene  with  which  it  terminated,  was  worthy 
of  his  noble  character  and  the  active  part  which  he  had  taken  in  the  cause 
of  religious  reform.  When  informed  of  his  sentence,  he  called  for  pen,  ink 
and  paper,  and  having  written  a  confession  of  his  faith,  gave  it  to  an  officer 
saying,  "  This  ia  the  true  faith  of  the  Gospel,  as  opposed  to  that  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  which  has  been  corrupted  for  ages."  The  whole  of  that 
night  and  morning  was  spent  by  the  friars  in  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  induce 
him  to  recant.  He  appeared  in  the  procession  with  a  gag  in  his  mouth.  It 
was  removed  after  he  was  bound  to  the  stake,  and  the  friars  began  again  to 
exhort  him  to  confess.  He  replied  in  a  loud  voice,  and  with  great  firmness, 
"  I  could  demonstrate  to  you  that  you  ruin  yourselves  by  not  imitating  my 
example,  but  there  is  no  time.  Executioners,  light  the  pile  that  is  to  con- 
sume me."  They  obeyed,  and  De  Seso  expired  among  the  flames  without 
a  struggle  or  a  groan. 

At  an  Auto  in  Seville,  on  the  22nd  of  December,  1560,  no  fewer  than  eight 
females  of  the  most  irreproachable  character,  suffered  the  most  cruel  of 
deaths.  Among  these  were  Maria  Gomez,  her  sister  and  three  daughters. 
After  the  reading  of  the  sentence  which  condemned  them  to  the  flames,  one 
of  the  young  women  went  up  to  hor  aunt,  from  whom  she  had  imbibed  the 
Protestant  doctrine,  and  thanked  her  for  the  religious  instruction  she  had 
given  her,  and  implored  her  dying  blessing.  The  five  friends  took  leave  of 
one  another  with  tender  embraces,  and  words  of  mutual  comfort.  The  in- 
terview between  these  devoted  women  was  beheld  by  the  Holy  Tribunal, 
with  a  ripid  composure  of  coiintenance,  undisturbed  even  by  a  glance  of  dis- 
pleasure, and  so  completely  had  superstition  and  habit  subdued  the  strong- 


ff  IS  TO  ST.  73 

eat  emotions  of  the  human  breast,  that  not  a  single  expression  of  sympathy 
escaped  from  the  multitude  at  witnessing  a  scene  which,  in  other  circum- 
stances, would  have  harrowed  up  the  feelings  of  the  spectators  and  driven 
them  to  a  mutiny. 

The  foregoing  are  but  samples  of  what  was  taking  place  all  over  Europe, 
during  the  great  struggle  for  freedom  of  conscience.  In  the  Netherlands, 
the  Inquisition  was  introduced  in  the  13th  century,  and  severely  enforced 
under  the  Spanish  Emperora,  Charles  V  and  his  son  Philip  II.  The  lattef 
was  probably  the  most  inflexible  and  bigoted  tyrant  of  modern  history.  He 
it  was  who  replied  to  one  of  his  subjects  on  the  way  to  the  stake,  who  asked: 
"  Canst  thou,  sire,  thus  witness  the  tortures  of  thy  innocent  subjects  ?  "  •  "  I 
would  carry  the  wood  to  burn  my  own  son,  were  he  as  wicked  as  thou." 
That  he  would  have  done  so  ia  amply  proven  by  the  fact,  that  the  evidence 
scarcely  admits  of  a  doubt  that  hia  son  Carlos  did  eventually  die  by  poison, 
administered  by  the  direction  of  hia  father. 

The  struggle  of  the  Netherlanders  for  civil  and  religious  liberty  was  long 
and  obstinate,  and  involved  them  in  a  war  of  eighty  years'  duration.  For- 
timate  for  them,  their  oppression  awoke  the  strong  arm  and  patriotic  heart 
of  William  the  Silent,  Prince  of  Orange,  without  whose  wise  guidance  the 
final  victory  could  never  have  been  won. 

In  1567,  the  Duke  of  Alva  was  sent  to  the  Netherlanders  by  Philip,  to  act 
as  Governor-General.  On  arriving  there  he  established  what  was  called  the 
Council  of  Troubles,  and  renamed  by  the  people  the  Council  of  Blood.  The 
proceedings  of  this  body  were  summary  in  the  extreme,  and  its  justice  may 
be  fairly  estimated  by  an  anecdote  of  one  of  its  members,  Councillor  Hes- 
sela.  This  worthy  was  accustomed  to  sleep  through  the  dry  and  uninter- 
esting evidence  in  defence  of  the  accused,  and  awaking  with  a  a  tart  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  testimony,  shout  out,  "  To  the  gallows  with  him!  To  the 
gallows  with  him!"  It  would  be  a  useless  labor  to  relate  particular  in- 
stances of  the  atrocities  committed  by  a  tribunal  composed  of  men  like  this. 
"Columns  and  stakes  in  every  street,  the  door-posts  of  private  houses,  the 
fences  in  the  fields  were  laden  with  human  carcasses  strangled,  burned,  be- 
headed. The  orchards  in  the  country  bore  on  many  a  tree  the  hideous 
fruit  of  human  bodies."  This  ia  the  moderate  testimony  of  the  historian 
Motley.  Suffice  it,  that  at  last  "  Liberty  did  triumph,"  and  the  power  of  the 
Spanish  throne  was  driven  from  the  Netherlands  forever. 

But  a  little  more  than  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  fires  of  the  Inqui- 
sition were  kindled  for  the  last  time.  The  progress  of  civilization  makes  it 
seem  impossible  that  such  scenes  should  ever  be  enacted  again.  Of  the 
thousands  who  perished,  the  names  of  but  few  have  come  down  to  us. 
Their  martyrdom  was  suffered,  that  men  might  come  at  laat  to  know  the 
truth  of  that  which  was  said  BO  many  centuries  before  by  Gamaliel,  "  That 
if  these  doctrines  be  new,  and  of  the  world,  and  men  pleased  by  their  nov- 
elty, they  will  soon  die  of  themselves,  but,  if  they  be  from  God,  no  mortal 
will  be  able  to  atop  their  progresa." 

Tlie  Reign  of  Terror  in  Paris. — The  following  description  of  this 
exciting  period  in  French  history  is  from  the  stenographic  report  of  a  lecture 
delivered  by  Mr.  John  L.  Stoddard  in  the  Academy  of  Music,  Brooklyn, 
New  York: 

"A  most  deplorable  state  of  affairs  was  that  brought  on  by  the  revolution 
hi  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  An- 
toinette had  attempted  to  escape,  but  were  captured  and  brought  back  to 


74        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  royal  palace  in  the  Tuilerics.  Hardly  had  Louis  entered  Paris  when  he 
apologized  for  his  escape  and  swore  to  his  people  that  in  future  he  would 
be  faithful  to  the  nation  and  carry  into  effect  all  the  decrees  of  the  govern- 
ment. Great  was  the  festival  upon  the  return  of  the  king.  At  the  Champs 
de  Mars,  France  arid  Paris  rejoiced  at  Louis'  return,  and  made  memorable 
the  occasion  by  numerous  signs  of  great  joy.  Balloons  were  sent  up,  from 
which  were  scattered  far  and  wide  copies  of  the  constitution  which  the  ruler 
had  promised  to  obey.  Yet  when  Louis  returned  to  his  chamber  he  is  said 
to  have  wept.  He  could  not  accept  or  reject  the  constitution,  and  could 
only  only  cry  out,  '  What  can  I  do  ? '  It  was  almost  the  united  wish  of  the 
French  people  that  there  should  be  a  limited  monarchy.  But  there  came  the 
advocates  of  a  republic  who  would  not  believe  that  the  Bong  meant  to  keep  his 
second  oath.  The  crisis  was  fast  approaching.  It  came  at  length.  Louis 
was  taking  no  measures  to  defend  the  realm.  In  the  Tuileries  the  royalists 
were  planning  to  assert  their  power,  and  what  wonder  was  it  that  the  friends 
of  Liberty,  seeing  that  the  enemy  most  to  be  feared  was  in  their  own  court, 
utirred  up  the  people  to  strike  at  the  Tuileries  and  put  the  conspirators  to 
th«  sword  ?  They  had  destroyed  the  Bastile,  taken  Versailles,  and  now  came 
the  destruction  of  the  Tuileries — the  King's  palace.  The  King  had  the  right 
of  veto.  He  refused  to  sanction  certain  decrees  of  the  Assembly.  The  peo- 
ple became  aroused  and  assembled  together  with  their  banners  and  mottoes 
calling  for  the  death  of  the  King,  who  was  no  longer  the  protector  of  their 
rights.  They  stormed  the  palace,  and  he  ordered  the  gates  of  the  Tuileries 
to  be  thrown  open.  Excited  and  fierce  was  the  mob.  They  entered  the 
room  where  the  King  stood.  There  was  Louis  surrounded  by  the  petition- 
ers. Physically  he  was  no  coward,  however;  otherwise  he  was  weak  and 
incompetent.  'Sire,  fear  nothing,'  said  a  man  in  the  crowd.  'Put  your 
hand  on  my  heart  and  see  if  I  am  afraid,'  was  Louis'  reply.  '  France  has 
no  better  friend,'  he  added.  '  Then  put  on  the  bonnet  rouge,'  cried  the 
mob,  and  Louis,  with  the  red  cap  on  his  head,  was  led  to  the  window  to  be 
seen  by  the  crowd  without.  '  If  you  love  the  people,  drink  to  their  health,' 
said  a  man,  as  he  handed  the  King  a  glass  of  wine.  Louis  did  as  he  was  re- 
quested. The  palace  was  cleared  by  the  guards,  and  as  the  King  saw  re- 
flected in  one  of  the  broken  mirrors  the  red  cap,  he  exclaimed  to  Marie  An- 
toinette: '  It  was  not  to  see  you  thus  insulted  that  I  brought  you  here  from 
Vienna.'  The  allied  sovereigns  issued  a  proclamation  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  towns  and  cities  of  France  would  be  visited  with  war,  and  all  Paris 
given  over  to  destruction,  if  the  Tuileries  were  destroyed.  But  this  threat 
had  little  effect.  From  the  tower  of  St.  Germain  Church  rang  forth  the  call 
to  arms.  All  night  long  sounded  the  alarm  bells  from  the  same  tower  that 
gave  the  signal  for  the  St.  Bartholomew  massacre  many  years  before.  But 
now  a  different  cry  was  heard — it  was  the  cry  of  the  people  fighting  for  their 
liberty.  It  was  the  10th  of  August.  The  Swiss  Guard  remained  faithful  to 
the  King,  when  early  in  the  morning  the  populace  rushed  into  the  garden  of 
the  Tuileries,  shouting:  'Down  with  the  tyrant!'  Marie  Antoinette  heard 
the  shouts,  and  is  reported  to  have  said:  '  0  my  God,  they  are  insulting  the 
King.'  She  drew  a  pistol  from  the  belt  of  a  grenadier,  and  going  to  Louis 
and  handing  him  the  weapon,  said:  '  Now  is  the  time  to  »how  yourself  & 
King.'  An  officer  advised  Louis  to  go  at  once  to  the  Assembly,  which  he 
did.  As  he  passed  along,  a  faithful  soldier  said  to  him:  '  Be  sure  of  this, 
eire,  the  man  who  kills  you  dies  the  moment  after.'  Louis  might  have  said 
in  reply  that  it  would  be  better  to  have  the  would-be  murderer  die  the  mo- 
ment before,  but  it  was  no  time  for  jest.  Th«  royal  family  entered  the 


HIS  TOUY.  75 

Assembly  chamber  and  found  seats  in  the  reporters'  gallery.  The  Assem- 
bly was  in  session,  and  a  vote  was  passed  to  suspend  the  King  from  office. 
The  King  was  calm,  dignified,  unmoved.  He  said  a  few  words  to  a  messen- 
ger, who  left  the  room.  He  was  intercepted,  and  said  that  his  orders  were  to 
bring  the  King  his  dinner.  It  was  brought,  and  Louis  ate  heartily  with 
death  staring  him  in  the  face.  In  the  meantime,  the  crowd  had  burst  into 
the  Tuileries,  massacred  the  Swiss  Gmard  and  made  prisoners  of  the  Royal- 
ists. The  royal  family  was  imprisoned.  Then  came  the  King's  trial  and 
the  verdict  of  death.  Six  hundred  soldiers  followed  the  carriage.  It  must 
have  been  an  impressive  scene.  Despite  tho  treachery  and  the  villainy, 
there  was  something  sad  in  the  sight  of  a  dethroned  monarch  being  led  to 
his  death.  It  was  a  solemn  trial.  '  You  are  about  to  give  a  lesson  to  all  tho 
nations,'  said  the  judge,  when  he  had  informed  Louis  that  he  was  accused 
of  treason.  The  judges  each  voted  what  should  be  the  punishment.  When 
the  president  arose  to  announce  the  vote,  there  had  been  387  for  death,  a 
majority  of  53  out  of  the  721  votes  cast.  The  King  was  taken  to  the  Place 
de  la  Concorde,  a  lofty  platform  was  erected,  where  now  stands  the  obelisk. 
1 1  die  innocent.  I  forgive  the  authors  of  my  death;  I  pray  that  my  blood 
may  not  fall  on  France,  but  that  it  may  appease  the  wrath  of  my  enemies,' 
were  his  last  words,  and  the  soul  of  Louis  was  ushered  into  eternity.  Then 
came  the  Reign  of  Terror.  The  revolutionists  were  in  a  desperate  situation. 
All  France  rose  en  masse.  Young  men  rushed  to  the  army,  women  made 
clothing,  the  children  made  lint  for  the  wounded,  while  the  old  men  in- 
spired a  feeling  of  terrible  hatred,  and  the  revolution  continued  until  the 
allied  forces  were  drawn  from  the  country.  There  were  two  parties  in  Paris 
struggling  for  supremacy.  Tho  Jacobins  were  in  power,  and  were  the  idols  of 
the  people.  Danton,  a  natural  leader  of  the  people,  believed  that  the  only 
way  to  save  France,  was  to  destroy  all  who  were  deemed  tho  least  dangerous. 
A  tribunal  was  formed  to  decide  who  should  be  guillotined.  First  suffered 
the  Royalists,  then  came  the  Girondists.  Marat  was  a  member  of  the  trium- 
virate. He  was  repulsive  in  appearance.  He  had  the  instincts  of  a  tiger, 
and  was  continually  calling  for  new  heads  for  the  guillotine.  Charlotte  Cor- 
dayl  the  beautiful  heroine  of  the  Revolution,  remarkable  for  her  beauty  and 
spotless  character,  resolved  to  strike  down  the  Jacobin  leaders.  She  called 
upon  Marat;  found  him  in  the  bath;  gave  him  a  list  of  names  for  death,  and 
as  he  read  them,  with  one  blow  of  the  dagger  killed  him.  The  act  of  Char- 
lotte Corday  was  a  mistake.  She  only  gave  greater  impetus  to  the  terror 
•which  reigned,  instead  of  bringing  about  peace,  which  she  had  intended. 
'She  has  killed  us,  but  she  taught  us  how  to  die,'  said  the  enemy.  Great 
•was  the  courage  of  the  twenty-two  Girondists  as  they  met  their  doom,  and 
on  their  way  to  the  Place  de  Greve,  in  the  true  spirit  of  French  republican- 
ism, they  sang  the  '  Marseillaise '  and  continued  to  sing,  the  song  growing 
fainter  as  the  numbers  decreased.  In  thirty-one  minutes  the  twenty-two 
Girondist  leaders  were  beheaded.  Their  memory  was  cherished  by  all  true 
friends  of  liberty.  Madame  Roland,  the  noble  patriot,  soon  after  yielded  up 
her  life,  and  she  it  was  who  gave  utterance  to  the  famous  sentence,  '  Oh, 
Liberty,  what  crimes  are  committed  in  thy  name  1'  The  Reign  of  Terror 
was  a  constant  succession  of  cruel  tragedies.  Marie  Antoinnette  was  con- 
fined to  a  cell  where  she  suffered  every  indignity,  and  was  then  taken  in  a 
common  cart  to  the  guillotine  where,  looking  upon  the  Tuileries,  the  former 
homo  of  the  proud  queen,  she  died  at  the  hands  of  the  executioner,  and  her 
body  was  thrown  into  a  coffin  that  cost  7  francs  ($1.40.)  To  die  thus  wa» 
terrible,  but  to  die  and  leave  her  children  in  horrible  captivity,  was  more 


76        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

terrible.  The  story  of  the  little  Dauphin  is  the  most  pathetic.  The  Dau- 
phin was  placed  in  solitary  confinement,  poorly  fed  and  miserably  clad, 
where  he  finally  died  at  the  age  of  ten  years.  Historians  differ  as  to  the 
death  of  this  young  Prince.  Robespierre  was  the  last  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Jacobins.  Ho  was  a  thin  man,  with  rasping  voice.  There  was  nothing  at- 
tractive in  his  appearance.  In  the  Assembly  ho  was  for  some  time  of  little 
account;  but  gradually  he  made  for  himself  a  position,  and  nice  observers 
noted  in  him  a  quality  of  fanatical  earnestness  and  conviction,  in  virtue  of 
which  they  surmised  for  him  a  great  career.  '  This  man,'  said  Mirabeau, 
'  will  go  far,  for  he  believes  every  word  he  says.'  He  became  a  merciless 
fanatic,  with  supreme  power.  Ho  was  ready  to  send  to  the  guillotine  his 
best  friends,  if  they  crossed  his  path.  Robespierre,  as  was  natural,  had 
many  enemies,  and  in  particular,  the  numerous  friends  of  Danton  were 
eager  to  avenge  his  death.  A  conspiracy  was  organized  against  the  tyrant, 
and  after  a  scene  of  fierce  struggle,  his  arrest  was  accomplished.  He  was 
atruck  down  in  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  and  as  he  lay  on  the  table  bleeding  from 
Ids  wounds  not  a  hand  was  stretched  out  to  give  him  water.  The  multitude 
spat  upon  him  and  insulted  him  in  every  manner  possible,  but  his  courage 
never  faltered,  and  he  was  taken  to  the  guillotine  to  suffer  the  same  death 
which  he  had  brought,  to  so  many.  When  the  knife  fell  that  severed  his 
head  from  his  body  loud  and  unanimous  were  the  cheers  that  went  up  from 
the  crowd.  '  Yes,  Robespierre,  there  is  a  God,'  cried  out  an  old  man.  But 
with  his  death  the  Reign  of  Terror  did  not  end.  In  three  days  114  victims 
suffered  death.  Finally  came  Napoleon,  the  reseller  of  the  people  from  im- 
pending anareiiy.  The  young  man  was  summoned  by  the  Assembly  to  take 
command  of  the  forces  to  put  down  the  revolution.  '  Yes,  I  am  in  the  habit 
of  accomplishing  all  that  I  undertake,'  were  his  words,  when  questioned  as 
to  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  But  he  in  turn,  led  on  by  ambition,  founded 
for  a  brief  tune  a  land  of  Roman  empire,  and  he  himself  became  the  Caesar 
of  the  Nineteenth  Century." 

Braddock's  Defeat. — The  dispute  with  the  French  in  respect  to  the 
Ohio  lands,  which  commenced  in  Virginia,  was  vigorously  taken  up  in  Eng- 
land, and  two  regiments  were  at  once  ordered  to  America  to  maintain  the 
claim  of  the  British  Crown  to  the  territory  in  dispute.  These  troops  arrived 
in  the  early  part  of  1755,  under  the  command  of  General  Braddock,  who  in- 
vited Washington  to  serve  during  the  campaign  as  a  volunteer  aide-de-camp. 
This  invitation  he  at  once  accepted,  and  joined  the  regiment  on  its  march  to 
Fort  Cumberland.  At  this  post  the  expedition  was  unfortunately  detained 
until  near  the  middle  of  June,  waiting  for  teams  and  army  stores,  and  by 
V  he  time  they  were  ready  to  march  Washington  was  prostrated  by  a  serious 
illness,  but,  with  his  characteristic  spirit,  he  refused  to  remain  at  the  fort, 
und  accompanied  the  army  hi  a  covered  wagon.  The  object  of  the  campaign 
being  to  capture  Fort  Duquesne  by  a  rapid  march  and  possible  surprise, 
Washington  advised  the  general  to  leave  his  heavy  artillery  and  baggage 
behind,  and  to  press  forward  with  a  chosen  body  of  troopa  as  expeditiously 
as  possible.  Tin's  advice  being  adopted,  twelve  hundred  men  were  selected, 
to  be  commanded  by  General  Braddock  in  person,  and  to  advance  with  the 
utmost  dispatch.  But  much  to  the  dissappointmeut  of  Washington,  the 
march  was  not  made  with  the  speed  or  caution  the  exigencies  of  the  case  re- 
quired. Writing  to  his  brother,  Washington  said:  "I  found  that  instead  of 
pushing  on  with  vigor,  without  regarding  a  little  rough  road,  they  were 
halting  to  level  every  molehill  and  to  erect  bridges  over  every  brook."  At 


HISTORY.  77 

Little  Meadows  Washington  was  so  overcome  by  sickness  that  he  had  to 
remain  behind  for  a  few  days  until  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Dunbar  with  the 
remainder  of  the  army.  He  again  reached  the  main  army  on  the  day  before 
that  eventful  battle  in  our  early  history.  This  was  on  the  9th  of  July,  when 
General  Braddock,  having  crossed  the  Monongahela  Eiver,  was  pressing 
forward  to  Fort  Duquesne  without  caution  or  preparation  to  prevent  sur- 
prise. Earnestly  Washington  expostulated  with  him  and  explained  to  him 
the  peculiar  warfare  of  the  wily  savage,  but  to  this  advice  of  the  colonial 
militia  officer  the  vain  and  arrogant  Braddock  gave  a  contemptuous  reply 
that  he  had  nothing  to  fear  from  French  or  Indians,  and  that  he  commanded 
British  troops  whose  bravery  and  tactics  were  superior  to  that  of  any  savage 
foe.  Thus  he  marched  his  troops  on  without  a  single  scout  until  within  a 
few  miles  of  Fort  Duquesue,  when  suddenly  they  fell  into  that  terrible  and 
deadly  ambush  so  familiar  to  history  as  one  of  the  most  stupid  and  obstinate 
blunders  ever  made  by  a  military  man.  Here  the  hidden  foe  of  French  and 
Indians  in  the  high  grass  and  behind  trees  poured  their  deadly  volleys  of 
musketry  into  the  broken  and  disordered  ranks,  and  with  dead  and  dying 
strewing  the  ground  in  every  direction,  the  greatest  consternation  prevailed, 
and  officers  and  soldiers  alike  went  down  or  fled,  unable  to  see  or  fight  their 
foe.  Washington  and  his  Virginia  militia  alone  were  cool,  and  they  alone 
saved  the  remnant  of  the  British  army  from  entire  destruction.  Skilled  in 
the  Indian  mode  of  warfare,  the  Virginia  troops  took  to  the  shelter  of  tho 
trees,  and  by  their  well-directed  fire  held  the  savages  in  check  and  stopped 
the  relentless  pursuit  and  butchery.  Braddock  was  soon  shot  down,  and 
the  entire  defence  devolved  on  Washington,  who  rode  through  the  hottest 
of  the  engagement  and  had  two  horses  killed  under  him,  and  four  bullet* 
passed  through  his  coat.  It  seems  indeed  a  Providential  interposition  that 
saved  him  Irom  the  fate  of  those  around  him. 

Never  before  was  an  army  more  completely  surprised  in  daylight,  or 
thrown  into  greater  dismay  or  disorder.  A  thousand  deadly  bullets  were 
whistling  through  the  forest,  and  hundreds  of  panic-stricken  soldiers  writhed 
in  death  agonies.  This  was  the  fearful  surprise,  the  awful  ambush  against 
which  Washington  had  continually  warned  Braddock,  who  had  time  in  his 
dying  agonies,  while  being  carried  to  the  camp  of  Dunbar,  to  realize  his 
fatal  mistake,  if  he  did  not  even  fully  realize  it  on  the  field  of  his  terrible 
defeat,  while  Washington's  heroic  deeds  upon  that  bloody  field  stand  out  as 
one  of  the  brightest  pages  of  his  renown. 

The  Plague  of  London — The  great  plague  of  London  in  1665  formi 
a  climax  in  the  history  of  diseases.  Many,  with  Milton  or  Defoe,  looked 
upon  the  plague  as  the  judgment  of  Heaven  upon  the  misdeeds  of  theh 
rulers.  London  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1664-'65  was  crowded  with  people; 
in  the  West  End  the  wealthy  and  noble  gathered  around  Westminster  and 
Whitehall,  in  the  city  and  the  eastern  suburbs  trade  had  revived.  The 
river  was  full  of  ships,  the  streets  filled  with  an  overflowing  ticle  of  life. 
Defoe  has  painted  with  his  realistic  pen  the  slow  rise  of  the  pestilence,  tho 
first  alarm,  the  hopes,  the  fears,  the  progress  of  the  scourge  secretly  and 
then  openly,  the  flight  of  the  citizens,  the  horrid  gloom,  the  death  cries,  the 
yawning  graves,  crime,  woe,  the  decline  of  the  pestilence,  the  boundless 
joy  of  the  survivors,  the  return  of  the  impenitent  Court.  For  a  long  time  it 
had  been  known  in  London  that  the  plague  had  been  raging  on  the  Conti- 
nent, brought  from  the  East  by  some  unlucky  trader;  but  in  the  winter  of 
1661  only  a  few  cases  had  been  noticed  iu  the  capital,  .vet  these  were  enough 


71         CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

to  excite  a  deep  anxiety.  But  the  winter  came  on  sharp  and  bleak,  and 
seemed  to  kill  the  disease,  as  if  it  could  only  flourish  in  the  hot  air  of  sum- 
mer. It  disappeared  wholly.  It  revived  in  May — a  cool,  pleasant  month; 
it  lingered  in  the  filth  and  squalor  of  St.  Giles's,  and  in  June  broke  into 
fearful  activity.  The  pestilence  had  come;  the  citizens  who  were  able 
closed  their  houses  and  shops  and  fled.  The  Court  had  gone  to  Oxford;  for 
weeks  the  streets  were  filled  with  crowds  of  people  moving  to  the  country 
on  horseback,  on  foot,  carrying  their  furniture,  goods,  wares,  the  rich  and 
poor  mingled  in  a  common  calamity. 

But  many  were  forced  to  stay,  and  on  these  the  pestilence  fell  with 
almost  unaccountable  fury.  The  hot  weather  of  July  roused  it  to  virulence; 
in  August  it  was  fearful;  in  September  the  horrors  told  of  it  surpass  belief. 
It  first  appeared  with  a  tumor  on  the  breast  or  under  the  arm,  hard,  pain- 
lul,  horrible — the  plague-spot.  The  physicians  when  they  saw  the  fearful 
omen  would  cry,  "  Lift  up  your  eyes  to  God! "  In  a  few  hours  it  was  fatal. 
Sometimes  the  patient  sank  under  a  raging  lever,  headache;  sometimes 
faded  away  in  a  swift  decline,  almost  painless;  some  seemed  to  die  of 
fright;  some  hanged  themselves  to  escape  it;  some  were  seized  in  the 
streets,  and  died  before  they  could  reach  their  own  doors.  In  September 
8,000  persons  died  weekly,  and  60,000  it  was  believed  were  infected.  The 
Lord  Mayor  of  the  city,  his  sheriff  and  aldermen,  remained  bravely  at  their 
post;  they  did  nil  that  man  could  do.  They  ordered,  when  too  late,  the 
streets  to  be  purified;  funerals — or  rather  burials — were  only  to  be  per- 
formed at  night,  when  there  was  to  be  no  tolling  of  bells,  no  outward  cere- 
monial. But  at  night  the  fatal  cart  began  its  rounds,  and  at  every  infected 
house  the  cry  was  heard,  " Bring  out  your  dead!"  They  were  thrown 
together  in  huge  piles;  in  the  churchyards  deep  pits  were  dug,  and  here  by 
the  gleam  of  torches  the  bodies  were  thrown  in  and  lightly  covered  with 
earth. 

Every  house  that  was  infected  was  isolated;  a  watchman  stood  at  the 
entrance;  no  one  was  suffered  to  go  in  or  out  except  the  physician;  upon 
the  door  was  placed  a  large  red  cross  inscribed:  "  Lord  have  mercy  on  us." 
They  might  well  cry  for  mercy.  The  air  seemed  tainted;  grass  grew  in  once 
crowded  streets;  the  trade  of  the  capital  was  lost;  the  ships  hung  idly  in  the 
Thames;  the  miserable  poor  died  by  thousands,  and  saved  the  city  from  the 
cost  of  feeding  them,  which  it  never  has  failed  to  do.  The  recreant  King 
and  Court  would  fly  from  the  scene  of  duty,  but  the  city  officials  showed  no 
trace  of  fear.  The  Mayor  was  constantly  in  the  streets;  even  the  constables 
and  watchmen  were  seldom  at  rest;  many  of  them  died.  Day  and  night,  at 
last,  an  observer  relates,  the  labor  of  burial  went  on.  Bancroft,  Dean  of  St. 
Paul's,  had  fled  to  Tunbridge;  his  canons  remained,  and  some  of  their 
letters  to  the  Dean  still  exist — the  cry  of  utter  despair. 

Whole  streets  of  houses  were  shut  up  and  deserted;  men  fled  from  each 
other  when  they  met;  the  money  paid  to  the  butcher  or  baker  was  invariably 
fumigated;  thieves  wandered  through  the  deserted  shops  and  dwellings, 
and  sometimes  died  in  them.  Fearful  tales  were  told  of  nurses  who 
smothered  and  robbed  their  patients;  of  deeds  of  horror  that  were  never 
punished;  of  the  infected  who  ran  shrieking  about  the  streets,  and  fell 
dead;  of  homes  in  which  all  had  died  together.  August,  September,  passed 
with  growing  horrors;  in  November  the  colder  weather  seemed  to  check  the 
disease,  and  many  who  came  back  too  hastily  were  infected  and  died.  At 
last  in  December  the  great  deliverance  came;  the  pestilence  had  ceased.  A 
wild,  a  fearful  joy  spread  over  the  afflicted  city;  ita  people  came  back  once 


HISTORY.  'II 

more  to  the  desolate  scene,  maddened  with  a  strange  exhilaration.  Those 
•who  survived  were  crazed  with  the  joy  of  living.  Once  more  the  great  city 
was  thronged  with  the  rich,  busy,  gay;  the  Court  and  King  came  back;  a 
rigid  law  was  passed  to  punish  Dissenters;  the  revels  and  crimes  of  White- 
hall began  again;  but  nothing  was  done  by  Court  or  King  to  prevent  the 
return  of  that  awful  scourge  that  had  so  recently  passed  away.  A  mightier 
power  intervened.  A  new  calamity  seemed  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the 
old.  The  great  fire  of  London  soon  followed,  swept  over  the  tainted  ground, 
consumed  churches  and  church-yards --St.  Paul's  and  St.  Mary's — shops, 
warehouses,  palaces,  hovels,  cleansed  many  a  narrow  close,  purified  many  a 
scene  of  horror.  The  city  was  rebuilt  with  wider  streets,  better  buildings. 
Perhaps  its  citizens  had  learned  neatness  and  propriety;  but  it  is  certain  that 
the  plague  never  cume  again,  and  that  by  the  labors  of  modern  science  tho 
vast  capital  has  been  made  one  of  the  healthiest  and  most  fortunate  of 
cities. 

The  Burning  of  Moscow. — The  following  graphic  description  of 
this  thrilling  episode  in  the  career  of  the  first  Napoleon  is  extracted  from  an 
exceedingly  interesting  book  of  travels  entitled  "Eed-Letter  Days  Abroad," 
by  John  L.  Stoddard  (Boston:  James  B.  Osgood  &  Co.): 

It  was  by  moonlight  on  a  summer  evening  that  we  went  forth  from 
our  hotel,  and,  standing  near  St.  Basil's  Church,  took  a  farewell  look 
at  the  Kremlin.  Never  before  had  Moscow  seemed  to  me  such  an  Orien- 
tal city;  for  its  gilded  towers,  sparkling  ia  the  moonbeams,  recalled 
the  Turkish  minarets  which  I  had  often  watched  thus  from  the  Bosphorus. 
I  thought  then  of  the  night  which  Napoleon  passed  within  those  Kremlin 
walls— apparently  a  conqueror,  but  really  on  the  verge  of  a  sublime  catas- 
trophe. "  We  shall  see,"  he  had  exclaimed  on  entering  the  Kremlin,  "  what 
the  Eussiana  will  do.  If  they  refuse  to  treat  with  me,  our  winter  quarters 
are  assured.  We  shall  give  to  the  world  the  singular  spectacle  of  an  army 
wintering  in  an  enemy's  country.  In  the  springtime  will  come  mild 
weather  and  victory! "  Napoleon  believed  that  his  genius  had  foreseen 
everything.  It  had,  indeed,  foreseen  every  possibility,  save  one,  namely, 
the  suicide  of  Moscow!  As  the  exultant  French  entered  the  city  which 
seemed  to  them  the  goal  of  their  desires,  they  found  it  a  desert  without  food 
or  inhabitants.  Even  here  the  Eussian  army  persisted  in  its  policy  of 
retreating  and  never  fighting;  for  well  it  knew  that  in  the  field  the  Eagles 
of  France  moved  only  to  victory.  Its  population  of  three  hundred  thousand 
had  fled,  and  only  some  liberated  convicts  and  abandoned  wretches  watched 
the  triumphant  entry  of  the  conqueror.  It  was  appalling.  The  French 
were  starving;  and  Moscow  was  empty!  But  this  was  only  the  commence- 
ment. 

Scarcely  had  Napoleon  entered  the  Kremlin,  when  the  liberated  convicts 
Aegan  their  work,  and  those  flames  burst  forth  whose  lurid  after-glow  was 
to  light  the  path  to  Waterloo  and  St.  Helena.  There  was  something  sublime 
in  this  act  of  the  Eussians.  To  thwart  the  otherwise  invincible  Napoleon, 
they  gave  up  to  the  devouring  element  their  ancient,  beautiful  and  holy 
city,  although  it  was  the  idol  of  every  Eussian  heart,  and  though  her  shrines 
were  to  him  the  holiest  in  the  world,  hallowed  by  seven  centuries  of  his- 
torical association!  This  fearful  sea  of  flame  spoke,  therefore,  in  a  million 
fiery  tongues  of  the  grandest  sacrifice  ever  made  to  national  feeling. 

Starting  from  eleven  different  places,  the  conflagration  raged  for  three 
days  with  terrific  fierceness.  The  Russians  had  removed  all  the  engines, 


80         CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

and  the  dismayed  French  could  do  almost  nothing  to  check  it,  though  the  in- 
cendiaries were  shot  down  like  dogs.  But  what  words  can  describe  the 
horror  of  that  scene  ?  Amid  the  glorious  palaces  and  churches  resplen- 
dent in  the  flames,  the  convicts  and  abandoned  wretches  ran  like  vermin, 
engaged  in  universal  pillage,  and  covering  their  filthy  rags  with  furs  and 
costly  robes.  What  the  fire  spared,  the  greedy  clutch  of  ravishers  de- 
stroyed; and  works  of  elegance  and  luxury  went  down  either  in  the  awful 
holocaust  or  in  the  vortex  of  remorseless  war.  No  less  than  twenty  thou- 
sand Russian  soldiers  who  had  been  left  in  the  Moscow  hospitals  were 
burned  to  death. 

What  wonder  that  Napoleon,  though  quartered  in  the  Kremlin,  now 
sought  to  make  peace  with  his  peculiar  foe  ?  But  now  the  Russians  laughed, 
and  Kutuzoff,  their  leader,  answered:  "I  have  but  just  opened  the  cam- 
paign, for  now  I  see  approaching-  my  ally,  Winter! "  And  then  commenced 
that  terrible  retreat,  whose  horrors  have  baffled  the  power  of  brush  and 
pencil  to  portray.  All  the  annals  of  war  furnish  no  parallel  to  the  story  of 
that  march,  which  has  been  forever  frozen  into  the  memory  of  man.  The 
frost  and  enow  made  frightful  havoc  with  the  host,  which  in  the  most  awful 
scenes  of  carnage  had  never  blanched.  Such  was  their  agony  for  food  that 
officers  and  soldiers  alike  fought  for  the  carcasses  of  the  horses  as  they  fell, 
and  ate  them  raw. 

Freezing,  yet  struggling  to  the  last  against  the  eddying  snow  and  pierc- 
ing wind,  they  staggered  on,  till  one  after  another  fell  from  the  ranks,  to  be 
coffined  only  in  the  shroud  of  ice  woven  around  them  by  the  pitiless  storm- 
king.  The  exact  extent  of  the  French  loss  is  unknown,  but  a  Russian  ac- 
count states  that  when  the  icy  mantle  of  the  Beresina  had  melted  in  the 
spring,  there  were  found  in  the  river  alone  thirty-six  thousand  dead  bodies! 
They  were  the  laat  ghastly  remnant  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
who  perished  on  that  tearful  march,  from  cold,  hunger,  and  fatigue! 

Chronological  American  History. — 923.  Discovery  of  Greenland 

by  the  Icelanders. 

1435.   Columbus  born  at  Genoa,  in  Italy. 
1492.  Oct.  27,  Cuba  discovered. 
1494.   Columbus  discovers  Jamaica. 

1497.  Newfoundland  and  Labrador  discovered  by  the  Cabota. 

1498.  Aug.  1,  Columbus  discovers  the  South  American  continent. 

1499.  South  America  visited  by  Americus  Vespucius. 

1500.  The  Amazon  at  its  mouth  discovered  by  Pincon. 

1512.  April  2,  Florida  discovered  by  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon. 

1513.  Sept.  26,  Pacific  Ocean  discovered  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa. 
1516.  Rio  de  la  Plata  discovered  by  Juan  Riaz  de  Solis. 

1519.  March  13,  Cortez  lands  at  Tabasco  in  Mexico. 

1520.  Magellan  discovers  Patagonia. 
De  Ayllon  discovers  Carolina. 

1522.  Bermuda  discovered  by  Juan  Bennudez. 

1537.  California  discovered  by  Cortez. 

1539.  Ferdinand  de  Soto  heads  an  expedition  to  conquer  Florida. 

1541.  De  Soto  discovers  the  Mississippi. 

1562.  Coligny  attempts  to  found  a  colony  of  French  Protestants  in  Florida. 

1563.  Slaves  first  imported  into  the  West  Indies  by  the  English. 
1565.  St.  Augustine  founded  by  the  Spaniards. 

1576.  Elizabeth's  and  Frobisher's  Straite  discovered  by  Martin  Frobisher. 


HISTORY.  81 

1584.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  dispatches  two  vessels  to  Virginia. 

1586.  Discovery  of  Davis's  Straits. 

1602.  May  15,  Cape  Cod  discovered  and  named  by  Bartholomew  Goenold. 

1603.  Coast  of  Maine  visited  by  Martin  Pring. 

1605.  Port  Eoyal,  Acadie  [Nova  Scotia],  founded  by  the  French  under  De 
Monts. 

1608.  July  3,  Quebec  founded  by  Champlain. 

1609.  Hudson  Eiver  discovered  by  Henry  Hudson. 

1610.  Delaware  Bay  named  in  honor  of  Lord  de  la  War,  who  visited  the 

bay  at  that  time  and  died  on  his  vessel  at  his  mouth. 

1611.  Lake  Champlain  discovered  by  Champlaiu. 

1613.  Pocahontas  weds  John  Eolfe. 

1614.  New  York  settled  by  the  Dutch  on  Manhattan  Island  (now  New  York) 

and  at  Fort  Orange  (Albany). 
1616.  Tobacco  first  cultivated  in  Virginia. 

1619.  June  19,  first  colonial  assembly  in  Virginia. 

1620.  Slaves  first  introduced  into  Virginia  by  the  Dutch. 

Nov.  10,  the  Mayflower  anchors  in  Cape  Cod  harbor;  first  white  child 

born  in  New  England. 
Dec.  11,  landing  of  the  Puritans  at  Plymouth. 

1621.  May  12,  first  marriage  at  Plymouth. 

1623.  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  settled  by  the  English.  Now  Jersey  set- 
tled by  the  Swedes  and  Dutch. 

1627.  Delaware  settled  by  Swedes  and  Finns. 

1628.  Salem,  Mass.,  founded  by  John  Endicott. 

1629.  Charlestown  founded  by  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony. 
1634.   Maryland  founded  by  Lord  Baltimore. 

1636.  Hartford  settled.    Providence,  E.  I.,  founded  by  Eoger  Williams. 

1638.  New  Haven  founded   by  Eaton   and   Davenport.    Harvard   college 

founded. 

1639.  First  printing  press  Bet  up  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  by  Stephen  Day. 

1640.  Montreal  founded. 

1648.  First  execution  for  witchcraft.    New  London  settled. 

1650.  Harvard  college  chartered.    Constitution  of  Maryland  settled. 

1663.  Carolina  granted  to  Lord  Clarendon  by  Charles  II. 

1665.  June  12,  New  York  city  incorporated. 

1672.  Charleston,  S.  C.,  founded.    First  copyright  granted  by  Massachusetts. 

1675.  June  24,  commencement  of  King  Philip's  war;  attack  on  Swanzey. 

1681.   Grant  of  Pennsylvania  to  William  Penn. 

1687.  First  printing-press  established  near  Philadelphia  by  William  Brad- 
ford. 

1693.  First  printing-press  established  in  New  York,  by  William  Bradford. 

1699.   Kidd  the  pirate  apprehended  at  Boston. 

1701.  Yale  College  founded  at  Saybrook.  Commencement  of  Queen  Anne'a 
war. 

1703.  Culture  of  silk  introduced  into  Carolina.    Duty  of  £4  laid  on  imported 

negroes  in  Massachusetts. 

1704.  First  newspaper  (Boston  News  Letter)  published  at  Boston,  by  Bar- 

tholomew Green. 

1709.  First  printing-press  in  Connecticut,  set  up  at  New  London,  by  Thomas 

Short. 

1710.  First  colonial  post-office  at  New  York. 
1712.  Free  schools  founded  in  Charlestown,  Mass. 


82          CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

1714.  First  schooner  built  at  Cape  Ann. 

1717.  New  Orleans  founded  by  the  French. 

1719.  First  Presbyterian  church  founded  in  New  York. 

1721.  Inoculation  for  small-pox  introduced  into  New  England. 

1725.  First  newspaper  in  New  York  (New  Ym-k  Gazette),  published  by  Wil- 
liam Bradford. 

1729.  North  and  South  Carolina  separated. 

1732.  Tobacco  made  a  legal  tender  in  Maryland  at  Id.  per  pound,  and  corn 

at  20d.  per  bushel. 
Feb.  22,  George  Washington  born. 

1733.  Georgia  settled  by  Oglethorpe. 
1738.  College  founded  at  Princeton,  N.  J. 

1742.  Faneuil  Hall  erected  at  Boston  by  Peter  Faneuil. 

1744.   King  George's  war  begins; 

1750.  First  theatrical  performance  in  Boston. 

1754.  Columbia  College  in  New  York  founded. 
Beginning  of  the  old  French  war. 

1755.  July  9,  Braddock's  defeat. 
Sept.  8,  battle  of  Lake  George. 

1757.  Fort  William  Henry  taken  by  the  French. 

1759.  Niagara,  Ticonderogo,  and  Crown  Point  taken  by  the  English,  in  July. 

Sept.  13,  battle  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham;  Wolf  and  Montoalm  slain. 

Sept.  18,  Quebec  surrenders  to  the  English. 
1764.   April  21,  Louisiana  ordered  to  be  given  up  to  Spain. 
1769.  Dartmouth  College  incorporated. 
1773.  Dec.  16,  destruction  of  342  chests  of  tea  in  Boston  harbor. 

1775.  Several  ships  of  the  line  and  ten  thousand  troops  ordered  to  America. 
April  19,  battle  of  Lexington. 

Congress  votes  to  raise  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men. 

Juno  15,  George  Washington  appointed  Commauder-in-Chief  of  the 

American  army. 

June  17,  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill. 
July  12,  Washington  takes  command  of  the  army  at  Cambridge. 

1776.  March  17,  the  British  evacuate  Bo*ton. 

April,  Washington  removes  his  army  to  New  York. 

June  28,  repulse  of  the  British  at  Charleston. 

July  4,  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Aug.  27,  battle  of  Long  Island;  the  British  victorious. 

Washington  abandons  New  York  city;   the  British  take  possession, 

Sept.  15. 
Oct.  28,  battle  of  White  Plains. 

1777.  Lafayette  arrives  from  France  with  troops  and  supplies;    Congress 

gives  him  a  Major-General's  commission,  July  31. 
Aug.  16,  battle  of  Bennington. 
Sept.  11,  battle  of  Brandywine. 
Oct.  17,  surrender  of  the  British  army  under  Burgoyne. 

1778.  June  18,  the  British  evacuate  Philadelphia. 

July  11,  arrival  of  a  French  fleet  under  Count  d'Estaing. 

1780.  May  12,  surrender  of  Gen.  Lincoln  and  American  army  at  Charleston. 
Sept.  23,  treason  of  Gen.  Arnold,  and  arrest  of  Major  Andre. 

1781.  Bank  of  North  America  established. 

Oct.  19,  surrender  of  Cornwallis  and  7,000  troops  at  Yorktown, 

1782.  April  17,  Holland  acknowledges  our  independence. 


HISTORY.  83 

1782.  Nov.  30,  preliminaries  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

Britain  signed  at  Paris. 

1783.  Independence  of  the  United  States  acknowledged  by  Sweden,  Feb.  5; 

by  Denmark,  Feb.  25;  by  Spain,  March  24;  and  by  Russia,  in  July. 
April  11,  peace  proclaimed  by  Congress;  April  19,  announced  to  the 

army  by  Washington. 

Nov.  25,  New  York  evacuated  by  the  British. 
1786.  Shay's  insurrection  in  Massachusetts. 
1789.  George  Washington  elected  President;  inaugurated  April  30. 

1793.  Washington  re-elected  President.    Death  of  John  Hancock. 

1794.  Insurrection  in  Pennsylvania. 

1797.  March  1,  John  Adams  inaugurated  President. 

1799.  Dec.  14,  death  of  Washington. 

1800.  Seat  of  government  removed  to  the  city  of  Washington. 

1801.  March  4,  Thomas  Jefferson  inaugurated  President. 
1804.  Alexander  Hamilton  killed  by  Aaron  Burr  in  a  duel. 

1807.  Trial  of  Aaron  Burr  for  treason.   Steamboat  invented  by  Robert  Fulton. 

1808.  Jan.  1,  the  slave  trade  abolished. 

1809.  March  4,  James  Madison  inaugurated  President. 

1811.  Nov.  7,  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

1812.  June  18,  war  declared. 

1813.  May  27,  battle  of  Fort  George. 

Sept.  10,  Commodore  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie. 

1814.  Aug.  25,  the  British  occupy  the  city  of  Washington,  and  burn  th« 

Capitol. 
Sept.  11,  Macdonough's  victory  on  Lake  Champlain. 

1815.  Jan.  8,  battle  of  New  Orleans. 
March,  war  declared  with  Algiers. 

1817.  March  4,  James  Monroe  inaugurated  President. 

1819.  First  steamship  sailed  for  Europe. 

1821.  Gas  first  used  for  lighting  streets  in  the  United  States,  at  Baltimore. 

1825.  March  4,  John  Quincy  Adams  inaugurated  President. 

1829.  March  4,  Andrew  Jackson  inaugurated  President. 

May  2,  hail  falls  in  Tuscaloosa,  Ala.,  to  the  depth  of  twelve  inches. 
1833.  March  4,  Andrew  Jackson  inaugurated  President  for  a  second  term. 

May  16,  Santa  Anna  inaugurated  President  of  Mexico. 
1835.  Dec.  16,  great  fire  in  New  York. 

Seminole  war  in  Florida  begun. 

1837.  March  4,  Martin  Van  Buren  inaugurated  President. 
1841.  March  4,  William  Henry  Harrison  inaugurated  President. 

April  4,  Death  of  General  Harrison,  John  Tyler  succeeds  to  the  execu- 
tive. 

1845.  March  4,  James  Knox  Polk  inaugurated  President. 
June  8,  death  of  Andrew  Jackson. 

1846.  May  13,  proclamation  of  war  existing  with  Mexico. 

Oct.  25,  Tobasco  in  Mexico  bombarded  by  Commodore  Perry. 

1847.  Sept.  14,  the  American  army  enters  the  city  of  Mexico. 

1848.  Feb.  23,  John  Quincy  Adams  expires  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington. 

1849.  March  5,  inauguration  of  Zachary  Taylor  as  President. 
May  15,  the  cholera  breaks  out  in  New  York. 

1850.  July  9,  death  of  President  Taylor  at  Washington. 

July  10,  Millard  Fillmore  takes  the  oath  of  office  as  President. 
Sept.  18,  fugitivevslave  bill  passed. 


84        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

1852.  Jun«  29,  Henry  Clay  dies  at  Washington. 
Got.  24,  Daniel  Webster  dies  at  Marslifleld. 

1853.  March  4,  Franklin  Pierce  inaugurated  President. 
July  14,  Crystal  Palace  at  New  York  opened. 

1856.  May  22,  Charles  Sumner,  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  violently  as- 

saulted in  the  Senate  chamber  at  Washington,  by  Preston  C.  Brooks, 
representative  from  South  Carolina. 

1857.  March  4,  James  Buchanan  inaugurated  President. 

1858.  Aug.  5,  news  of  the  successful  laying  of  the  Atlantic  telegraph  cable 

is  received  throughout  the  country  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy. 
The  cable  was  placed  in  mid-ocean  July  29;  the  Agamemnon  reached 
Valencia,  Aug.  4,  and  the  Niagara  Trinity  Bay,  Aug.  5. 

1859.  Oct.  6,  John  Brown's  seizure  of  Harper's  Ferry;  he  is  taken,  and  hung 

Dec.  2. 

1860.  May  18,  Lincoln  nominated  by  Republican  convention  at  Chicago. 
Nov.  6,  Abraham  Lincoln  elected  President. 

1861.  Feb.  4,  Seceders'  convention  at  Montgomery,  Ala.;  they  call  them- 

selves "Confederate  States  of  America,"  and  adopt  a  constitution. 
Feb.  14,  Jeff.  Davis  made  President  of  the  Confederates;    they  raise 

troops  and  arm  for  war. 
April  14,  Fort  Sumter  surrenders  after  two  days'  bombardment  by  the 

Confederates. 

1862.  Feb.  1,  Gen.  Grant  takes  Fort  Donelson  with  over  13,000  prisoners, 

after  four  days  of  tremendous  fighting. 

Feb.  22,  Jeff.  Davis  inaugurated  rebel  President  for  six  years. 
May  31,  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  McClellan's  advance  defeated  severely  by 

rebels. 
June  6,  great  naval  battle  in  the  river  before  Memphis;   rebel  fleet 

nearly  annihilated;  Memphis  surrendered  on  the  same  day  to  Com- 
modore Davis. 
July  1,  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  last  of  the  Seven  Days'  Battles;  rebels 

repulsed  with  great  loss,  and  the  position  on  the  James  maintained. 

Total  Union  losses  in  seven  days,  15,244. 
July  1,  President  Lincoln  calls  for  600,000  volunteers. 
Aug.  29  and  30,  Gen.  Pope  defeated  at  Bull  Bun  after  very  heavy 

fighting,  and  falls  back. 

Sept.  16  and  17,  battle  of  Antietam;  rebels  defeated,  losing  25,000. 
Sept.  22,  Emancipation  Proclamation  announced  for  Jan.  1,  1863. 

1863.  Jan.  1,  the  definite  Emancipation  Proclamation  issued. 

May  1-5,  battle  of  Chancellorsville;   indecisive,  but  great  losses  on 

both  sides. 
July  1-3,  battle  of  Gettysburg;   Lee  defeated  and  retreats  at  once 

southward. 
July  4,  unconditional  surrender  of  Yicksburg  and  31,000  men  to  Gen. 

Grant. 
July  13-18,  draft  riots  in  New  York  city,  several  negroes  tortured  and 

hung  by  mob,  and  much  burning  and  robbing;  1,300  rioters  killed, 

and  riots  put  down. 
Oct.  17,  President  Lincoln  calls  for  300,000  more  men. 

1864.  March  17,  Gen.  Grant  assumes  supreme  command  of  all  the  armies  of 

the  United  States. 

May  5-6,  the  tremendous  battle  of  the  Wilderness;  resulting  in  Lee's 
retiring. 


HISTORY.  85 

1864.  Jane  7,  Mr.  Lincoln  renominated  at  Baltimore. 

July  16,  gold  about  this  time  at  its  highest  in  New  York,  viz.:  284  per 

cent. 
Aug.  5,  Admiral  Farragut's  splendid  victory,  in  forcing  his  way  into 

Mobile  Harbor. 
Nov.  8,  Lincoln  and  Johnson  elected.    Gen.  McClellan  resigns  his 

commission. 

1865.  April  2,  Grant  attacks  heavily  along  his  whole  line;  Lee  decisively 

defeated,  Petersburg  and  Richmond  evacuated  at  night,  and  Davis 

flees. 

April  9,  Lee  surrenders  remains  of  his  army;  being  26,115  men. 
April  14,  Booth  assassinates  President  Lincoln,  and  his  confederate 

Payne  tries  to  kill  Mr.  Seward;  Mr.  Lincoln  dies  at  7:22  next  morning. 
April  25,  Booth  discovered  in  a  barn  in  Va.,  and  refusing  to  surrender, 

is  shot  and  dies  in  four  hours. 

May  10,  Jeff.  Davis  captured  in  female  disguise  at  Irwinsville,  Ga. 
July  7,  the  assassins  Harold,  Payne,  Atzeroth  and  Mrs.  Surratt,  hung 

at  Washington;  Arnold,  Mudd,  Spangle  and  McLaughh'n  imprisoned 

for  life. 
Dec.  18,  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  officially  declared  slavery 

abolished  throughout  the  United  States,  27  States  having  ratified 

the  Constitutional  Amendment. 

1866.  July  4,  extensive  conflagration  in  Portland,  Me.;  one  third  of  the  city 

burnt,  and  property  amounting  to  $10,000,000. 
July  27.  laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable  successively  completed. 
1868.   Nov.  3,  Gen.  Grant  was  elected  President,  and  Schuyler  Colfax  Vico- 

President. 
1871.  Oct.  8,  commenced  and  continued  for  several  days,  in  Chicago,  111., 

one  of  the  greatest  conflagrations  of  modern  times,  in  which  more 

than  250  persons  lost  their  lives,  and  destroyed  property  to  the 

enormous  amount  of  $196,000,000. 

1876.  Centennial  anniversary  of  American  Independence. 

1877.  March  4,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  inaugurated  President. 
1881.  March  4,  James  A.  Garfield  inaugurated  President. 

July  2,  President  Garfield  shot  by  Charles  J.  Guiteau  at  Washington. 
Sept.  19  President  Garfield  died  at  Long  Branch. 
Sept.  20,  Chester  A.  Arthur  inaugurated  President. 
1885.  March  4,  Grover  Cleveland  inaugurated  President. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


The  Lion. — The  lion  is  chiefly  an  inhabitant  of  Africa,  although  it  is 
found  also  in  Borne  of  the  wilds  of  Asia,  particularly  in  certain  parts  of  Ara- 
bia, Persia,  and  India.  It  is  not,  in  general,  an  inhabitant  of  deep  forests, 
but  rather  of  open  plains,  in  which  the  shelter  of  occasional  bushes  or  thick- 
ets may  be  found.  The  breeding-place  is  always  in  some  much  secluded 
retreat,  in  which  the  young — two,  three,  or  fcnir  in  a  litter — are  watched  over 
with  great  assiduity  by  both  parents,  and,  if  necessary,  are  defended  with 

great  courage — although, 
in  other  circumstances, 
the  lion  is  more  disposed 
to  retire  from  man  than 
to  assail  him  or  contend 
with  him.  When  met  in  an 
open  country,  he  retires 
at  first  slowly,  as  if  ready 
for  battle,  but  not  desirous 
of  it;  then  more  swiftly; 
and  finally,  by  rapid 
bounds.  If  compelled  to 
defend  himself  he  mani- 
fests great  courage.  He 
often  springs  upon  his  prey 
by  a  sudden  bound  accom- 
panied with  a  roar;  and  it 
is  said  that  if  he  fails  in 
seizing  it,  he  does  notusu- 

ally  pursue,  but  retires  as 

if  ashamed;  it  is  certain, 

however,  that  the  lion  also  often  takes  its  prey  by  pursuing  it,  and  with  great 
perseverance.  The  animal  singled  out  for  pursuit,  as  a  zebra,  may  be  swifter 
of  foot  than  the  lion,  but  greater  power  of  endurance  enables  him  to  make 
it  [his  victim.  Deer  and  antelopes  are  perhaps  the  most  common  food  of 
lions.  Like  the  rest  of  the  Felidce,  it  is  a  nocturnal  animal;  its  eyes  are 
adapted  for  the  night  or  twilight  rather  than  for  the  day.  It  lurks  generally 
in  its  lair  during  the  day,  and  issues  as  night  comes  on,  when  its  tremendous 
roar  begins  to  be  heard  in  the  wilderness.  It  has  a  horror  of  fires  and  torch 
lights,  of  which  travelers  in  Africa  avail  themselves,  when  surrounded  by 
prowling  lions  in  the  wilderness  by  night,  and  bleep  in  safety. 

The  Hippopotamus. — The  common  hippopotamus  is  one  of  the  larg- 
est of  existing  quadrupeds,  the  bulk  of  its  body  being  little  inferior  to  that 
of  the  elephant;  although  its  legs  are  so  short  that  its  belly  almost  touches 
the  ground,  and  its  height  is  not  much  above  five  feet.  It  is  extremely 
aquatic  in  its  habits,  living  mostly  in  lakes  or  rivers,  often  in  tidal  estuaries, 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  87 

where  the  saltness  of  the  water  compels  it  to  resort  to  springs  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drinking,  and  sometimes  even  in  the  sea,  although  it  never  proceeds 
to  any  considerable  distance  from  the  shore.  Its  skin  is  very  thick — on  the 
back  and  sides,  more  than  two  inches;  it  is  dark  brown,  destitute  of  hair, 
and  exudes  in  great  abundance  from  its  numerous  pores,  a  thickish,  oily 
fluid,  by  which  it  is  kept  constantly  lubricated.  The  tail  is  short.  The  feet 
have  each  four  toes,  nearly  equal  in  size,  and  hoofed.  The  neck  is  short  and 
thick.  The  head  is  very  large,  with  small  ears,  and  small  eyes  placed  high, 
BO  that  they  are  easily  raised  above  water,  without  much  of  the  animal  being 
exposed  to  view.  The  muzzle  is  very  large,  rounded,  and  tumid,  with  large 


THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS. 

nostrils  and  great  lips  concealing  the  large  front  teeth.  The  hippopotamus 
cuts  grass  or  corn  as  if  it  were  done  with  a  scythe,  or  bites  with  its  strong 
teeth  a  stem  of  considerable  thickness  neatly  through.  The  skull,  while  it 
is  distinguished  by  remarkable  peculiarities,  corresponds  in  the  most  impor- 
tant characters  with  that  of  the  hog.  The  respiration  of  the  hippopotamus 
is  slow,  and  thus  it  is  enabled  to  spend  much  of  its  time  under  water,  only 
coming  to  the  surface  at  intervals  to  breathe.  It  swims  and  dives  with  great 
ease,  and  often  walks  along  the  bottom,  completely  under  water.  Its  food 
consists  chiefly  of  the  plants  which  grow  in  shallow  waters,  and  about  the 
margins  of  lakes  and  rivers.  The  hippopotamus  is  lively  and  playful  in  its 
native  waters;  it  soon  learns  to  avoid  man,  and  when  it  cannot  retire  among 
reeds  for  concealment,  it  dives  and  remains  long  under  water,  raising  only 
its  nose  to  the  surface  when  another  breath  becomes  necessary.  The  female 
hippopotamus  may  sometimes  be  seen  swimming  with  her  young  one  on  her 


88        CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

back.  The  animal  is  generally  inoffensive,  but  is  occasionally  roused  to  fits 
of  rage,  in  which  it  becomes  extremely  dangerous,  particularly  to  those  who 
pursue  it  in  boats.  Its  voice  is  loud  and  harsh,  and  is  likened  by  Burck- 
hardt  to  the  creaking  and  groaning  of  a  large  wooden  door. 

The  Elephant. — For  ages  mankind  have  been  familiar  with  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  elephant,  the  largest  animal  on  the  globe;  but  travelers 
and  naturalists  are  very  frequently  discovering  new  facts  hi  regard  to  their 
habits,  instincts,  and  sagacity,  which  give  new  interest  to  the  character  of 
that  monster.  It  is  now  settled  that  there  are  several  distinct  species.  Those 
in  equatorial  Africa  are  vastly  larger  than  the  variety  with  which  Europeans 
are  mostly  acquainted  in  the  East  Indies.  The  first  have  immensely  large 
pendulous  ears,  which  when  thrown  back  cover  the  whole  of  the  shoulders, 
and  thus  serve  an  important  purpose  in  fanning  and  keeping  off  annoying 
insects.  The  others  have  comparatively  small  ears,  less  serviceable  as  pro- 
tecting instruments.  The  African  elephant  rarely  has  the  two  tusks  of  the 
same  size  or  length.  Banging  about  in  herds  they  unite  in  actively  uproot- 
ing large  trees  for  the  sake  of  the  tender  leaves  they  know  are  only  at  the 
top.  While  some  pry  and  lift  with  the  right  tusk  under  a  resisting  root, 
others  push  against  the  trunk  and  thus  heave  it  over.  They  are  right- 
handed,  like  all  quadrupeds,  as  well  as  man.  The  right  tusk,  in  conse- 
quence of  being  used  most,  is  not  only  stouter  and  larger  than  the  left,  but 
often  broken  off  at  the  point  from  misadventure  in  their  foraging  operations. 
Formerly,  when  large  numbers  of  elephants  were  trained  for  war  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Calcutta,  long  rows  of  huge  fellows  having  heavy  iron  chains 
thirty  feet  long  fastened  to  a  collar,  at  word  of  command  would  suddenly 
wind  them  round  their  trunks  and  at  bidding  throw  them  out  horizontally 
with  prodigious  force,  sweeping  down  whole  platoons  of  soldiers  at  once 
when  in  close  engagement. 

The  Bear. — The  American  black  bear  (  Ursus  AmericanuK)  is  found  in 
all  parts  of  North  America.  Its  total  length  seldom  exceeds  five  feet.  The 
fur  is  soft  and  smooth,  and  generally  of  a  glossy  black;  but  there  are  vari- 
eties of  other  colors,  as  the  cinnamon  bear,  the  yellow  bear,  etc.  The 
American  black  bear  usually  exhibits  a  timid  disposition,  seldom  attacks 
man,  feeds  chiefly  on  berries,  when  they  can  be  obtained,  occasionally  visits 
gardens  for  the  sake  of  cabbages  and  other  vegetables,  and  strongly  prefers 
vegetable  to  animal  food,  but  has  recourse  to  the  latter  when  pressed  by 
hunger,  and  in  such  circumstances  occasionally  approaches  human  habita- 
tions and  captures  pigs,  which  it  endeavors  to  carry  off.  In  such  cases  the 
bear  walks  on  its  hind  legs,  the  pig  being  firmly  sqtieezed  between  its  fore- 
paws  and  breast,  making  a  noise  which  frequently  leads  to  a  rescue.  This 
and  other  species  of  bear,  when  assailed,  not  unfrequently  hug  their  adver- 
saries in  the  manner  here  described,  when  their  strength  renders  them  very 
dangerous.  The  skin  of  the  American  black  bear  is  used  for  caps,  rugs,  etc., 
and  great  numbers  are  annually  killed  upon  this  account,  chiefly  by  the 
Indians  in  the  employment  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  grizzly 
bear  (  U.ferox)  of  North  America,  found  chiefly  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  plains  to  the  eastward  of  them,  from  Mexico  to  lat.  61°  n.,  is  much  larger 
than  the  species  already  noticed,  and  much  more  fierce  and  carnivorous. 
It  sometimes  measures  more  than  nine  feet  from  nose  to  tail,  and  the  claws 
of  the  fore-feet  more  than  six  inches  in  length.  It  has  a  lengthened  and 
narrowed  muzzle,  a  very  short  tail,  and  long  grizzled  hair.  No  animal  of 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


89 


the  New  World  is  more  formidable.  It  is  capable  of  overpowering  the  bison, 
and  dragging  away  the  huge  carcass.  It  feeds,  however,  on  fruits  and 
roots.  The  Arctic  or  polar  bear,  also  called  the  white  bear  ( U.  mari- 
timus),  resembles  this  species  in  size  and  fierceness,  but  is  very  distinctly 
characterized  by  its  flat  head  and  comparatively  long  neck.  It  has  a  smooth 
white  fur.  It  is  the  only  known  species  of  bear  which  is  strictly  marine  in 
its  habits,  never  being  found  far  from  the  sea.  It  inhabits  the  most  north- 
erly shores  of  Asia  and  America,  Spitzbergen,  etc.,  where  it  pursues  seals, 
both  in  the  water  and  upon  the  ice,  and  preys  upon  fishes,  birds,  etc. 
Among  the  articles  of  its  food  are  eggs  and  berries  in  their  season,  and  in 
confinement  it  will  subsist  long  on  bread  and  other  vegetable  food.  Like 


THE  SYBIAN  BEAU. 

other  species  of  the  genus,  it  displays  great  affection  for  its  young,  and  will 
brave  all  dangers  in  their  defence.  Of  other  species  of  bear,  the  Syrian  ( U. 
Syriacus)  may  be  mentioned,  as  perhaps  the  species  particularly  intended 
by  the  name  bear  in  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  generally  of  a  dingy-white  or 
brown  color,  and  has  a  stiff  mane  of  erect  hairs  between  the  shoulders. 
Flocks  are  not  safe  from  it,  yet  it  more  frequently  commits  ravages  on  crops 
of  pulse.  In  its  habits  generally  it  much  resembles  the  common  bear;  as  do 
also  the  Tibet  bear  (  U.  Fibetanus),  and  the  spectacled  bear  ( U.  ornatus),  so 
called  from  semicircular  yellow  marks  above  its  eyes,  a  native  of  the  Andes 
of  Chili.  The  long-lipped  or  sloth  bear  ( U.  labiatus),  of  the  East  Indies,  is 
the  kind  commonly  led  about  by  Indian  jugglers.  Its  long  hair,  short  limbs, 
high  back,  peculiarly  uncouth  appearance,  and  gentleness  of  disposition, 
recommend  it  for  this  purpose.  In  a  wild  state,  it  is  said  to  feed  chiefly  on 
fruits,  honey  and  ants.  It  possesses  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  power,  com- 
mon in  some  measures  to  all  the  bears,  of  protruding  the  lips  in  order  to  lay 
hold  of  food.  Some  of  the  bear  species  spend  the  winter  in  a  torpid  state, 
selecting  a  cavern  or  the  hollow  of  a  tree  for  hibernation. 


90 


CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


The  Bison. — The  American  bison  (Bos  Americanus  of  some  naturalists, 
B.  Bison  of  others)  is  interesting  as  the  only  species  of  the  ox  family  indig- 
enous to  America,  except  the  musk  ox  of  the  subarctic  regions.  It  is  com- 
monly called  Buffalo  by  the  Anglo-Americans,  although  it  is  very  different 
from  the  buffaloes  of  the  Old  World.  It  is  found  in  vast  numbers  in  the 
great  prairies  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Mountains;  it  occurs  as 
far  north  as  the  vicinity  of  Great  Marten  Lake,  in  lat.  63°  or  64°;  extensive 
level  and  marshy  tracts  there  affording  it  suitable  food,  although  it  is  no- 
where else  to  be  met  with  in  so  high  a  latitude.  Its  southern  limit  appears 
to  be  in  New  Mexico.  About  300,000  Indians  are  supposed  to  subsist  almost 
entirely  on  the  flesh  of  the  bison.  The  spear  and  the  bow  and  arrow  are  still 
much  employed  by  them  in  hunting  it,  although  many  of  them  also  use  fire- 
arms. They  frequently  pursue  it  on  horseback;  but  the  hunter,  whether  on 
horseback  or  on  foot,  has  often  much  difficulty  in  getting  within  shot,  upon 
account  of  its  keenness  of  scent,  and  the  speed  with  which  it  runs.  The  chase 

of  the  bison  is  also 
very  dangerous,  as  it 
is  apt  to  turn  upon  an 
adversary,  and  even 
a  fleet  horse  cannot  al- 
ways escape  it.  Great 
numbers,  however, 
are  sometimes  killed 
when  the  hunters  can 
succeed  in  throwing 
the  herds  that  are 
scattered  over  the 
plains  into  confusion, 
so  that  they  run  wild- 
ly, without  heeding 
whither.  Another  ex- 
pedient of  the  Indians 
is  to  set  fire  to  the 
grass  of  the  prairies 
around  them,  when 
they  retire  in  great  consternation  to  the  center,  and  are  easily  killed.  A  sort 
of  pound  or  enclosure  is  sometimes  made,  with  a  long  avenue  leading  to  it, 
and  an  embankment  of  snow,  such  that  when  the  animals  have  descended 
over  it  they  cannot  return,  and  by  this  means  great  numbers  are  often  cap- 
tured and  killed.  Sometimes,  also,  the  Indians  contrive  to  throw  them  into 
consternation,  and  to  make  them  run  towards  a  precipice,  over  which  many 
of  the  foremost  are  driven  by  the  crowds  which  throng  up  behind. 

The  Tiger. — This  animal  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Felidce,  equal  per- 
haps to  the  lion  in  size  and  strength,  and  superior  in  activity.  It  has  no 
trace  of  mane.  It  is  more  slender  than  the  lion,  its  whole  form  more  cat- 
like, its  head  smaller  and  rounder.  All  its  motions  are  performed  with  the 
utmost  grace  and  apparent  ease.  It  does  not  climb  trees,  but  winds  ita  way 
through  brushwood  or  jungle  with  great  dexterity,  runs  very  swiftly,  and 
can  leap  an  immense  distance.  It  takes  its  prey  either  by  running,  or,  more 
frequently,  by  lying  in  ambush  and  leaping  upon  it.  Its  strength  is  such 
that  it  is  capable  of  carrying  off  an  ox  or  buffalo.  It  is  sometimes  fifteen  feet 
in  entire  length  to  the  tip  of  the  tail;  an  instance  is  on  record  of  eighteen 


THE  BISON. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


01 


feet;  the  height  is  from  three  to  four  feet.  The  tigers  of  some  regions  differ 
considerably  in  size  from  those  of  others;  thus  the  tiger  of  Bengal  is  much 
larger  than  that  of  Bokhara.  The  hair  is  thick,  fine,  and  shining.  The  color 
is  a  bright  tawny  yellow,  beautifully  marked  with  dark  transverse  bands, 
passing  into  pure  white  on  the  under  parts;  the  dark  bands  are  continued 
as  rings  on  the  tail.  The  tail  is  long,  slightly  tapering,  clothed  with  hair 
similar  to  that  of  the  body.  Individuals  sometimes  occur,  of  a  pale  whitish 
color,  obscurely  striped,  the  stripes  only  visible  in  particular  lights.  The 
tiger  is  found  only  in  Asia.  It  abounds  in  Hindustan,  in  the  Eastern  Penin- 
sula, in  Java,  Sumatra,  and  other  tropical  islands.  It  is  found  also  in  China' 
and  Japan,  and  in  Persia.  Its  range,  however,  does  not  extend  much  to  the 
west  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  mouth  of  the  Indus  to  the  Caspian  Sea.  It  is 
found  as  far  north  as  the  south  of  Siberia,  and  even  on  the  banks  of  the  Obi. 


THE  TIGEE. 

It  inhabits  woods,  and  cannot  exist  without  free  access  to  water.  The  is- 
lands of  the  delta  of  the  Ganges  have  long  been  celebrated  as  a  haunt  of 
tigers.  The  animal  generally  lies  concealed  in  a  thicket  during  the  day,  and 
seeks  its  prey  by  night. 

The  Jaguar.— The  jaguar  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  cat  tribe,  and  by 
far  the  most  powerful  and  dangerous  of  the  American  beasts  of  prey.  It  is 
nearly  equal  to  the  tiger  in  size.  The  color  varies  considerably,  but  is  usu- 
ally a  rich  yellow,  with  large  black  spots  and  rings,  small  black  spots  gen- 
erally appearing  within  the  rings.  A  black  or  very  dark-brown  variety  oc- 
curs, but  the  characteristic  markings  may  be  seen  in  certain  lights,  deeper 
in  color  than  the  rest  of  the  fur.  The  jaguar  is  strong  enough  to  drag  away 
a  horse,  and  swift  enough  to  capture  horses  on  the  open  pampas.  It  is 
chiefly,  however,  an  inhabitant  of  forests.  It  climbs  trees,  however  smooth 
the  stem,  and  moves  about  with  great  agility  among  the  branches,  making 
even  monkeys  its  prey.  The  skins  of  jaguars  are  exported  from  South 
America  in  great  numbers. 


92        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Leopard.  —The  leopard  or  panther  is  characterized  by  a  pecub'£tt 
gracefulness,  slenderness  and  flexibility  of  form,  with  a  very  long  tail,  and 
spotted  fur,  the  spots  being  arranged  in  numerous  rows  along  the  sides,  and 
each  spot  composed  of  five  or  six  small  spots  arranged  in  a  circle  or  rosette. 
The  general  color  is  yellowish;  the  lower  parts  lighter;  the  spots  darker 
than  the  general  color  of  the  fur.  The  leopard  is  extremely  agile,  and  pos- 
sesses the  power  of  leaping,  and  also  that  of  climbing  trees,  in  great  perfec- 
tion. It  haunts  wooded  places,  and  is  seldom  to  be  found  in  open  regions 
of  long  grass,  like  the  tiger.  When  pursued,  it  takes  refuge,  if  possible,  in 
a  tree,  and  if  hard  pressed,  springs  down  on  its  assailants.  It  is  cunning, 
and  adopts  devices  similar  to  those  of  the  fox  for  carrying  on  its  depreda- 


THB  LEOPABD. 

tions,  and  concealing  its  place  of  retreat.  Deer  and  antelopes  are  its 
habitual  prey;  but  it  is  equally  ready  to  feed  on  pigs,  poultry,  or  whatever 
may  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  a  farm  or  village.  The  size  and  strength 
of  the  leopard  render  it  as  dangerous  to  man  as  any  of  the  Felidce;  but  it 
generally  seems  to  dread  and  flee  from  man,  unless  assailed.  It  is  very 
capable  of  domestication. 

The  Wolf. — The  common  wolf(Canis  lupus)  inhabits  Europe  and  the 
northern  parts  of  Asia  and  America.  It  is  of  a  yellowish  or  tawny-gray 
color,  with  strong,  coarse  hair,  which  is  longest  on  the  ears,  neck,  shoulders 
and  haunches,  but  particularly  on  the  throat;  the  muzzle  is  black,  the 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


03 


upper  lip  and  chin  white.  The  ears  are  erect  and  pointed,  the  muz- 
zle sharp;  the  legs  rather  longer  than  those  of  the  Shepherd's  dog; 
the  tail  bushy,  but  not  curling;  the  eyes  oblique,  giving  a  peculiar  vicious 
expression  to  the  countenance.  The  wolf  is  swift  of  foot,  and  hunts  deer 
and  other  animals,  packs  of  wolves  associating  for  this  purpose;  it  also 
often  commits  great  ravages  among  sheep,  and  attacks  calves,  but  seldom 
full-grown  oxen.  It  seldom  attacks  man,  unless  hard  pressed  by  hunger, 
when  it  becomes  very  dangerous.  The  hungry  wolves  which  sometimes 
descend,  in  severe  winters,  from  the  forests  of  the  Alps,  Pyrenees,  and 
other  mountains,  are  much  dreaded  by  the  inhabitants  of  neighboring 
regions;  and  terrible  stories  are  told  of  travelers  chased  by  packs  of  wolves 
in  the  forest-covered  plains  of  the  east  of  Europe  and  in  Spain.  In  general 
the  wolf  is  cowardly  and  stealthy,  approaching  sheepfolds  and  farm-build- 
ings by  night,  in  search  of  prey,  and  readily  scared  by  any  demonstration 
of  watchfulness,  fleeing 
from  dogs,  and  not  readi- 
ly exposing  itself  within 
range  of  shot.  It  defends 
itself,  however,  with 
great  vigor,  when  com- 
pelled to  do  so.  It  is  not 
easily  trapped,  being  ex- 
tremely cautious,  and  ap- 
pearing to  understand 
the  nature  and  purpose  of 
a  trap  almost  as  well  as 
those  by  whom  it  is  set. 
Wolves  have  often  been 
known  even  to  approach 
a  trap  so  skilfully  as  to 
devour  the  bait  without 
harm  to  themselves,  get- 
ting at  it  from  below.  The  American  wolves  consist  of  several  distinct 
species,  among  which  are  the  gray  wolf,  dusky  wolf,  black  wolf,  white  wolf, 
prairie  wolf  and  coyote. 

The  Giraffe. — The  giraffe  or  camelopard  ( Camdopardalis  giraffa),  the 
tallest  of  quadrupeds,  is  ranked  by  some  naturalists  among  deer  (Cervidoe), 
but  more  properly  regarded  as  constituting  a  distinct  family  of  ruminants, 
which  contains,  however,  only  one  species.  It  is  a  native  of  Africa,  from 
Nubia  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  extensively  diffused,  but  apparently  no- 
where abundant.  It  occurs  generally  in  some  herds  of  from  five  to  forty.  It 
feeds  on  the  leaves  and  small  branches  of  trees.  Its  general  aspect  is 
remarkable  from  the  height  of  the  foreparts  and  great  elongation  of  the 
neck,  the  head  being  sometimes  eighteen  feet  from  the  ground.  The  num- 
ber of  vertebrae  in  the  neck,  however,  is  not  greater  than  in  other  quad- 
rupeds, and  it  has  no  extraordinary  flexibility,  although  its  form  and  move- 
ments are  very  graceful.  The  body  is  short,  and  the  back  slopes  from  the 
shoulder  to  the  tail;  but  the  greater  height  of  the  foreparts  is  not  owing,  as 
has  been  often  alleged,  to  the  greater  length  of  the  forelegs,  which  are  not 
really  longer  than  the  hind  legs,  but  to  processes  of  the  vertebrae,  which 
form  a  basis  for  the  muscular  support  of  the  neck  and  head.  The  articula- 
tion of  the  skull  to  the  neck  is  such  that  the  head  can  be  easily  thrown  back 


THE  WOLF. 


94        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Until  it  is  in  the  same  line  with  the  neck,  thus  giving  the  animal  additional 
power  of  reaching  its  appropriate  food.  The  skull  has  empty  cavities,  which 
give  lightness  to  the  head,  along  with  sufficient  extent  of  surface  for  the 
insertion  of  the  ligament  which  supports  it.  The  legs  are  long  and  slender; 
the  feet  have  cloven  hoofs,  but  are  destitute  of  the  small  lateral  toes  or 
spurious  hoofs,  which  occur  in  the  other  cloven-footed  ruminants.  The 
head  is  long;  the  upper  lip  entire,  projecting  far  beyond  the  nostrils,  and 
endowed  with  considerable  muscular  power.  The  tongue  is  remarkably 
capable  of  elongation,  and  is  an  organ  of  touch  and  of  prehension,  like  the 
trunk  of  an  elephant;  it  can  be  thrust  far  out  of  the  mouth,  and  employed  to 
grasp  and  take  up  even  very  small  objects;  it  is  said  that  its  tip  can  be  so 
tapered  as  to  enter  the  ring  of  a  very  small  key.  The  usefulness  of  such  an 

organ  for  drawing 
in  leaves  and 
branchlets  to  the 
mouth  is  obvious. 
The  giraffe  adroitly 
picks  off  the  leaves 
of  acacias  and  other 
thorny  plants,  with- 
o  u  t  taking  the 
thorns  into  its 
mouth.  The  denti- 
tion of  the  giraffe 
agrees  with  that  of 
antelopes,  sheep, 
goats  and  oxen;  the 
tipper  jaw  of  the 
male  is  destitute  of 
the  canine  teeth, 
which  are  present 
in  the  male  of  most 
kinds  of  deer.  The 
head  is  furnished 
with  two  remarka- 
ble protuberances 
between  the  ears, 
generally  described 
as  horns,  bit  very 
different  from  the 
horns  of  other  ani- 
mals, and  each  consisting  of  a  bone  united  to  the  skull  by  an  obvious 
suture,  permanent,  covered  with  skin  and  hair,  and  terminated  by  long 
hard  bristles.  There  is  also  a  projection  on  the  forehead.  The  ears  are 
moderately  long;  the  tail  is  long,  and  terminates  in  a  tuft  of  long  hair  that 
nearly  reaches  the  ground.  There  is  a  callosity  on  the  breast.  The  neck 
has  a  very  short  mane.  The  hair  is  short  and  smooth;  the  color  is  a  red- 
dish white,  marked  by  numerous  dark  rusty  spots.  The  eye  of  the  giraffe 
is  very  large  and  lustrous,  and  so  placed  that  the  animal  can  look  all 
around  without  turning  its  head,  so  that  in  a  wild  state  it  is  not  easily 
approached.  Its  nostrils  have  a  muscle  by  which  they  can  be  closed,  a  pro- 
vision for  excluding  particles  of  sand.  It  is  an  inoffensive  animal  and  gen- 
erally seeks  safety,  if  possible,  in  flight,  although  it  is  capable  of  making  a 


THE   GIKAFFE. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


95 


stout  resistance,  and  is  said  to  beat  off  the  lion.  It  fights  by  kicking  with 
its  hind  legs,  discharging  a  storm  of  kicks  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  It 
is  not  easily  overtaken  even  by  a  fleet  horse,  and  has  greatly  the  advantage 
of  a  horse  on  uneven  and  broken  ground.  Its  pace  is  described  as  an 
amble,  the  legs  of  the  same  side  moving  at  the  same  time. 

The  Zebu.— The  zebu,  Indian  ox,  or  Brahmin  ox,  is  closely  allied  to 
the  common  ox,  of  which  naturalists  generally  regard  it  as  a  mere  variety, 
although  some  think  it  a  distinct  species  (Bos  Indicus).  The  most  conspicu- 
ous distinctive  character  is  a  large  fatty  lump  on  the  back,  above  the 
shoulders.  The  legs  are  rather  more  slender  and  delicate  than  in  the 
European  ox.  The  hump  attains  a  very  great  size  in  animals  plentifully 
supplied  with  food,  and  not  compelled  to  work;  in  those  which  are  ill-fed  or 
hard-worked,  it  is  comparatively  small.  It  is  alleged  that  intermixture 
takes  place  freely  with  the  common  ox,  and  that  there  is  no  difference  of 


anatomical  structure,  but  these  statements  require  verification.  Mr.  Vasey 
found  the  number  of  camdal  vertebra?  in  the  zebu  to  be  only  eighteen,  whilst 
in  the  common  ox  it  is  tweffty-one.  The  zebu  is  diffused  over  India,  China, 
the  Asiatic  Islands,  Madagascar,  and  the  east  coast  of  Africa.  There  are 
many  breeds,  differing  very  much  in  size;  the  largest  being  larger  than  any 
oxen  of  Europe,  whilst  the  smallest  are  not  much  larger  than  a  large  mastiff. 
The  hump  of  the  largest  breeds  is  said  to  be  sometimes  fifty  pounds  in 
weight.  English  residents  in  India  esteem  the  hump  as  delicious  for  the 
table.  There  are  hornless  breeds;  but  most  of  the  breeds  have  short 
horns.  There  is  a  breed  with  two  fatty  humps,  one  placed  immediately 
behind  the  other,  which  is  common  in  the  vicinity  of  Surat.  The 
voice  of  the  zebu  resembles  the  grunting  of  the  yak,  almost  as  nearly 
as  the  lowing  of  the  ox.  The  zebu  is  used  in  India  both  as  a  beast 
of  draught  and  of  burden.  It  ia  yoked  in  the  plough,  and  is  occasionally 
used  for  riding.  It  can  travel  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  a  day,  and  ia 
very  gentle  and  docile. 


9G         CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Ant-Eater.— The  ant-eater  is  a  genus  of  South  American  quad- 
rupeds. They  are  perfectly  toothless,  their  food  being  insects,  and  particu- 
larly ants,  which  they  procure  in  great  numbers  by  thrusting  among  them 
a  very  long  cylindrical  tongue,  covered  with  a  viscid  saliva,  and  then 
retracting  it  into  the  mouth.  The  head  is  remarkably  elongated,  with  a 
slender  muzzle,  and  a  small  mouth.  The  tongue  is  doubled  up  in  the 
mouth  when  not  in  use  for  catching  prey.  The  ears  and  eyes  are  very  small. 
The  toes  differ  in  number  in  the  different  species,  but  are  united  as  far  as 
the  base  of  the  claws,  which  are  very  large  and  strong,  adapted  to  tearing 
up  the  habitations  of  ants.  The  great  ant-eater  (M.jubata),  a  native  of  the 
warm  parts  of  South  America,  and  called  in  Demerara  the  ant  bear,  is  about 
four  and  one-half  feet  in  length  from  the  snout  to  the  origin  of  the  tail, 
which  is  more  than  two  feet  long,  and  is  covered  with  very  long  hair.  The 


THE  ANT-EATEB 

body  is  also  covered  with  long  hair,  particularly  along  the  neck  and  back. 
There  are  four  claws  on  each  fore  foot,  and  five  on  the  hind  ones.  The  ant- 
eater  spends  much  of  Its  time  in  bleep,  the  long  snout  concealed  in  the  fur 
of  the  breast,  the  hind  and  fore  claws  locked  together,  and  the  bushy  tail 
thrown  over  all,  as  if  for  a  shade  from  the  sun.  It  is  very  unsocial  in  its 
habits,  and  is  regarded  an  a  very  stupid  animal.  It  has  great  strength  in  its 
fore-legs  and  claws,  and  ia  said  to  hug  like  the  bear,  so  as  to  crush  an  enemy 
to  death.  The  female  produces  one  young  one  at  a  birth,  and  carries  it 
about  for  some  time  on  her  back. 

The  Porcupine. — The  porcupine  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe, 
of  many  parts  of  Asia,  and  of  most  parts  of  Africa.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  of 
rodents,  being  from  two  to  three  feet  in  length,  besides  the  tail,  which  is  about 
•six  inches  long.  The  hinder  part  of  the  head  and  the  neck  are  furnished 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


97 


with  a  crest  of  long  bristles,  capable  of  being  elevated  or  depressed  at 
pleasure.  The  muzzle  and  limbs  are  covered  with  very  short  hair;  the 
back  and  sides  with  spines,  which  are  longest  on  the  middle  of  the  back, 
where  they  are  almost  of  the  thickness  of  a  goose  quill,  and  more  than  a  foot 
long.  The  spines  are  supported  by  a  slender  pedicle,  and  they  terminate 
in  a  sharp  point;  they  are  longitudinally  striated,  and  are  ringed  with  black 
aud  white,  which  gives  a  general  gray  color  to  the  animal.  Their  ordinary 
position  is  flat,  with  the  points  directed  backwards;  but  when  the  animal 
is  excited,  they  are  erected,  and  it  rolls  itself  up  like  the  hedgehog,  with 
spines  pointing  in  every  direction.  The  tail  spines  or  quills  are  of  very 
singular  structure,  being  open  thin-sided  tubes,  about  two  inches  long, 
supported  upon  slender  flexible  pedicles;  and  they  make  a  sound  by 


THE  POBCUPINE. 

rattling  together  when  the  tail  is  shaien.  The  porcupine  is  said  to  rattle 
also  the  spines  of  its  body  when  irritated,  but  this  is  doubtful.  The  state- 
ment has  been  often  made,  that  it  throws  off  its  spines  or  quills  by  a 
voluntary  act,  launching  them  at  its  adversaries;  but  it  has  no  such  power, 
although  it  is  possible  that  quills  ready  to  come  off  may  be  detached  in 
moments  of  excitement,  and  fly  to  a  small  distance  with  sufficient  force 
to  be  annoying  to  a  pursuer.  The  porcupine's  armor  is  strictly  defensive, 
and  it  seeks  to  turn  its  back,  and  thus  the  points  of  its  spines,  to  an 
•  enemy.  It  is  a  solitary  and  nocturnal  animal.  It  burrows  in  the  ground, 
and  in  winter  it  becomes  torpid.  It  feeds  on  roots,  bark,  fruits,  and 
other  vegetable  substances,  sometimes  committing  great  depredations  in 
gardens.  The  spines  or  quills  of  the  porcupine  are  used  for  various  pur- 
poses, and  have  a  certain  commercial  value.  It  is  chiefly  sought  on  account 


98        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

of  them;  although  its  flesh  is  eaten,  and  was  brought  to  the  market  of 
ancient  Rome. 

The  Hedgehog.— Among  the  smaller  mammalia  the  hedgehog  is  by 
no  means  one  of  the  least  interesting,  whether  we  consider  its  structure 
or  its  habits.  In  almost  every  part  of  the  country  this  little  animal  is 
common,  frequenting  woods,  copses,  orchards  and  dense  hedge-rows, 
where  it  lies  concealed  from  morning  till  dusk,  evening  being  its  "  open- 
ing day,"  when  it  rouses  up  from  slumber  and  begins  its  prowl  for  food, 
when  it  is  all  alertness,  and  alive  to  every  sound.  When  surprised  it 
makes  no  attempt  to  escape  by  flight,  but  rolling  itself  up  into  the  form 
of  a  ball,  trusts  to  its  panoply  of  thorns,  and  awaits  the  result.  While 


THE  HEDGEHOG. 

in  this  position,  the  head,  legs,  and  tail  are  completely  hidden  and 
protected,  and  the  animal  may  be  rolled  about,  or  even  roughly  treated, 
without  being  made  to  unfold  itself;  nay,  the  more  severely  it  is  attacked, 
the  more  pertinaciously  does  it  maintain  its  defensive  form,  and  the 
more  firmly  does  it  contract.  Thus  does  it  offer  a  passive  resistance,  and 
often  a  successful  one,  to  its  enemies,  of  which  the  fox  is  among  the 
most  resolute,  and  to  which,  in  spite  of  all  its  efforts,  it  often  falls  a 
prey.  When  taken  young  the  hedgehog  may  be  completely  tamed 
and  made  familiar,  allowing  itself  to  be  handled,  and  associating  with 
the  dog  or  cat  upon  terms  of  perfect  concord.  It  feeds  indifferently 
upon  bread  and  milk,  meat,  etc.,  and  keeps  up  a  regular  nocturnal  chaee 
after  insects. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


90 


The  Elk. — The  elk,  moose,  or  moose  deer,  the  largest  existing  species 
of  the  deer  family,  is  a  native  of  the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  Asia  and 
America.  When  full  grown,  it  is  about  six  feet  in  height  at  the  shoulders, 
and  sometimes  weighs  1,200  pounds.  Tho  body  is  round,  compact  and 
short;  the  neck  is  short  and  thick,  unlike  that  of  deer  in  general,  but  thus 
adapted  for  sustaining  the  great  weight  of  the  head  and  horns.  The  head  is 
very  large,  narrow,  about  two  feet  long.  The  horns  in  males  of  the  second 
year  are  unbranched,  not  flattened,  and  about  a  foot  long;  as  the  animal 
becomes  older,  they  begin -to  displa^-a  blade,  with  more  numerous  suage, 
and  in  mature  elks  the  blade  becomes  very  broad,  the  snags  sometimes 
fourteen  on  each  horn;  a  single  antler  has  been  known  to  weigh  about  sixty 
pounds.  The  horns  have  no  basal  snag  projecting  forwards.  The  ears  are 
long,  and  have  been  compared  to  those  of  the  ass.  The  eyes  are  small.  The 
limbs  are  long,  and  very  graceful.  The  tail  is  only  about  four  inches  long. 
The  body  is  covered  with  coarse  angular  hair,  which  breaks  when  it  is  bent. 
On  the  neck  and  withers 
there  is  a  heavy  mane; 
and  the  throat  is  covered 
with  long  hair.  A  large 
goitre-like  swelling  un- 
der the  throat  of  the 
younger  elks  has  a  very 
curious  appearance.  The 
hoofs  of  the  elk,  like 
those  of  the  reindeer  and 
of  the  buffalo,  are  so  con- 
structed as  to  part  wide- 
ly, and  to  afford  a  better 
footing  on  soft  marshy 
ground  or  on  snow;  they 
make  a  clattering  when 
it  runs.  In  running  it  car- 
ries its  muzzle  forward, 
with  the  horns  thrown 
back  upon  the  neck 
BO  that  they  may  not  be 
caught  by  branches.  Its 
shoulders  being  higher 

than  the  croup,  its  common  gait  is  a  shambling  trot;  but  it  can  also  gallop 
with  great  rapidity.  Elks  delight  in  marshy  districts  and  in  forests.  When 
compelled  to  eat  grass,  they  must  get  down  on  their  knees  to  reach  it; 
their  proper  food  consists  of  the  branches  and  foh'age  of  shrubs  ard  trees. 
They  are  very  timid  and  inoffensive,  except  during  the  rutting  season.  A 
single  stroke  of  an  elk's  fore-foot  is  sufficient  to  kill  the  strongest  dog.  It  ia 
also  an  extremely  wary  animal,  and  is  with  the  greatest  difficulty  ap- 
proached by  the  hunter.  Its  sense  of  smell  is  very  acute,  and  the  slightest 
sound  excites  its  alarm.  It  is,  however,  much  sought  after  in  North 
America.  In  Sweden  its  destruction  is  prohibited;  and  in  Norway  is  placed 
under  legal  restriction.  The  flesh  of  the  elk  is  esteemed  a  good  kind  of 
venison;  the  fat  is  remarkably  soft;  the  nose  and  the  tongue  are  reckoned 
delicacies.  The  elk  is  easily  domesticated,  and  was  at  one  time  employed 
in  Sweden  for  conveying  couriers,  being  capable  of  traveling  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  in  a  day  when  attached  to  a,  sledge, 


100        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Stag. — The  stag  or  red  deer  is  a  species  of  deer  with  round  antlers, 
which  have  a  snag  at  the  base  in  front.  The  female  has  no  horns,  and  in 
called  a  Hind.  The  young  male,  during  the  first  year,  acquires  mere  knobs 
in  place  of  horns.  In  the  second  year,  they  are  longer  and  pointed,  when 
the  animal  is  called  a  Brocket.  The  branching  of  the  horns  increases  every 
year  till  the  sixth,  when  the  name  Hart  begins  to  be  applied.  After  this, 
the  age  is  no  longer  indicated  by  an  increased  number  of  branches,  but  the 
antlers  become  larger  and  thicker,  their  furrows  deeper,  and  the  burr  at  the 
base  more  projecting.  The  oldest  etags  have  seldom  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  branches,  although  an  instance  has  occurred  of  thirty-three  on  each 
antler.  A  fine  stag  is  four  feet  or  more  in  height  at  the  shoulder.  The  color 
ia  reddish  brown  in  summer,  the  rump  pale;  in  winter,  it  is  brownish  gray. 
The  female  is  smaller  than  the  male.  The  young  is  at  first  spotted  with 


white.  The  stag  feeds  on  the  budi  and  young  shoots  of  trees,  and  on  grass; 
or,  in  the  severe  weather  of  winter,  on  bark  and  mosses.  Its  speed  is  very 
great.  It  has  also  great  powers  of  swimming,  and  has  been  known  to  swim 
ten  miles.  When  hard  pressed  by  hunters,  it  turns  to  bay,  and  is  not  ap- 
proached without  danger.  At  the  pairing  season,  which  is  in  August,  even 
tame  stags  become  so  excited  that  it  is  not  safe  to  approach  them.  Their 
domestication  is  never  very  complete.  In  fighting,  it  uses  not  only  its  horns, 
but  its  fore-feet,  with  which  it  gives  severe  blows  to  an  adversary. 

The  Chamois. — The  chamois  is  a  species  of  antelope  inhabiting  the 
Alps  and  other  high  mountains  of  Central  and  Southern  Europe,  and  is 
about  the  size  of  a  large  goat.  Its  color  is  brown,  deeper  in  winter  than  ha 
summer.  The  usual  summer  resort  of  the  chamois  is  in  the  higher  regions 
of  the  mountains  which  it  inhabits,  not  far  from  the  snow-line,  and  it  is  often 
to  be  seen  lying  on  the  snow.  In  winter,  it  descends  to  the  higher  forests. 
Tfce  aromatic  and  bitter  plants  of  the  mountain  pastures  are  its  favorite 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


101 


food.  It  is  like  tho  ruminants  generally— very  fond  of  salt;  "  and  many 
stones  are  met  with  in  the  Alps,  hollowed  out  by  the  continual  licking  of  the 
chamois,  on  account  of  the  saltpetre  with  which  they  abound."  It  is  gre- 
garious; Hocks  of  one  hundred  are  sometimes  seen;  but  in  the  Swiss  Alps, 
where  the  numbers  have  been  much  reduced  by  hunting,  the  flocks  are  gen- 
erally very  small,  and  often  consist  only  of  a  few  individuals.  Old  males 
often  live  solitarily.  The  chamois  produces  one  or  two  young  at  a  birth,  in  tho 
month  of  March  or  April.  It  is  an  animal  of  extraordinary  agility,  and 
flocks  may  often  bo  observed  sporting  in  a  remarkable  manner  among  the 
rocky  heights.  It  can  leap  over  ravines  of  sixteen  to  eighteen  feet  wide;  a 
wall  of  fourteen  feet  high  presents  no  obstacle  to  it;  and  it  passes  readily 


THE  CHAMOIS. 

tip  or  down  precipices  which  almost  no  other  quadruped  could  attempt.  It 
is  said  to  descend  obliquely  almost  perpendicular  precipices  of  more  than 
twenty  feet,  striking  its  feet  once  or  twice  against  the  rock,  as  if  to  stay  and 
guide  its  descent,  and  alighting  securely,  often  on  a  very  narrow  ridge  of 
rock,  with  its  hind  feet  first,  and  bringing  the  fore-feet  almost  into  contact 
with  them.  When  a  flock  of  chamois  is  feeding  one  is  always  on  the  watch, 
and  by  a  sort  of  whistle  announces  apprehended  danger.  From  its  skin  .is 
made  the  shamoy  leather  so  much  prized  for  its  warmth  and  softness. 

The  Caribou,  or  American  Reindeer.— The  eyes  of  the  reindeer 
are  very  quick,  and  his  hearing  also  acute;  but  his  sense  of  smell  is  more 
wonderfully  developed  than  either  of  the  other  senses.  The  caribou,  or 
American  variety  of  the  reindeer,  is  a  large  animal,  measuring  three  feet  six 
inches  iu  height  at  the  shoulders  when  adult.  Although  it  ia  specifically 


102       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

identical  with  the  European  reindeer,  it  has  never  yet  been  brought  under 
the  sway  of  man,  and  trained  to  carry  his  goods  or  draw  his  sledges. 
Should  it  be  employed  for  these  purposes,  it  would  be  a  most  valuable  ser- 
vant, for  it  is  a  very  strong  as  well  as  an  enduring  animal,  leading  its  pur- 
siiers  a  chase  of  four  or  five  days,  and  often  eventually  making  good  its  es- 
cape. Whenever  practicable,  the  caribou  makes  for  the  frozen  surface  of 
the  lakes,  and  is  then  sure  to  escape,  although  the  manner  of  doing  so  is 
ludicrously  clumsy.  Rushing  recklessly  forward,  the  caribou  will  be  sud- 
denly startled  by  some  object  in  its  front,  and  on  attempting  to  check  its  on- 
ward career,  falls  on  the  ice  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  in  that  attitude  slidea 


THE  CABIBOTJ,   OB  AMERICAN  EEINDEEB. 

for  a  considerable  distance  before  it  can  stop  itself.  Recovering  its  feet,  it 
then  makes  off  in  another  direction,  and  gets  over  the  ground  with  such  ce- 
lerity, that  the  hunters  always  yield  the  chase  whenever  the  animal  gets 
upon  the  ice. 

The  Beaver. — This  interesting  quadruped  is  very  widely  distributed 
in  the  northern  regions  of  the  world,  reaching  in  America  almost  as  far 
south  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  once  existed  in  the  British  islands,  where, 
however,  it  has  long  been  extinct;  and  it  has  become  rare  in  Europe,  in 
many  parts  of  which  it  was  once  common.  It  has  become  rare  also  in  the 
United  States,  disappearing  before  man;  but  is  nowhere  BO  abundant  aa  in 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  103 

that  wide  region  of  lakes  and  rivers  which  lies  to  the  north  and  west  of  the 
settled  parts  of  North  America.  Considerable  numbers  of  beavers  are  found 
on  the  banks  of  the  Obi  and  other  rivers  of  Siberia,  and  in  Kamtchatka. 

The  beaver  is  usually  at  least  two  feet  in  length,  from  the  nose  to  the  root 
of  the  tail;  the  tail  is  of  an  oval  form,  about  ten  inches  in  length,  fully  three 
inches  in  greatest  breadth,  and  scarcely  an  inch  in  thickness.  These  dimen- 
sions are  sometimes  exceeded.  The  general  form  of  the  animal  is  thick  and 
clumsy,  thickest  at  the  hips,  and  then  narrowing  abruptly,  so  that  it  seems 
to  taper  into  the  tail.  The  head  is  thick  and  broad,  the  nose  obtuse,  the 
eyes  small,  the  ears  short  and  rounded.  The  fur  consists  of  two  kinds  of 


hair;  the  longer  hair  comparatively  coarse,  smooth,  and  glossy;  the  under 
coat  dense,  soft,  and  silky.  The  color  is  generally  chestnut,  rarely  black, 
spotted,  or  nearly  white.  The  beaver  is  very  aquatic  in  its  mode  of  life,  and 
it  seldom  wanders  far  from  some  lake  or  river.  In  consequence  of  its 
habits,  it  is  also  limited  to  wooded  districts,  and  the  northern  range  of  the 
species  is  everywhere  terminated  by  the  limits  of  the  wood  upon  the  river 
banks. 

The  food  of  the  beaver  consists  of  the  bark  of  trees  and  shrubs  (birch, 
poplar,  willow,  etc.),  and  of  the  roots  of  water  lilies  and  other  aquatic  plants. 
In  summer,  it  eats  also  berries,  leaves,  and  various  kinds  of  herbage.  There 
is  reason  to  think  that  it  never,  as  has  been  supposed,  kills  or  eats  fish.  Like 
some  other  rodents,  it  lays  up  stores  of  provisions  for  whiter;  but  these,  in 
the  case  of  the  beaver,  consist  chieily  of  bark,  or  of  branches,  aud  even 


104      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

trunks  of  trees.  Its  extraordinary  powers  of  gnawing  are  exerted  to  out 
down  trees  of  several  inches  in  diameter,  both  for  food  and  for  the  construc- 
tion of  those  houses  and  dams  which  have  rendered  it  so  much  an  object  of 
admiration  to  mankind.  A  tree  of  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  has  been 
found  thus  cut  down  by  beavers,  although  smaller  ones  are  usually  pre- 
ferred; and  when  a  tree  of  this  size  is  cut,  the  branches  only,  and  not  the 
trunk,  are  employed  in  the  architectural  operations  of  the  animals.  These 
operations  are  very  wonderful,  although  the  statement,  at  one  time  com- 
monly made,  that  beavers  drive  stakes  into  the  ground,  has  no  foundation 
in  faet;  and  some  of  the  other  particulars  which  passed  current  along  with 
it,  were  equally  fabulous.  The  houses  or  lodges  of  beavers  are  grouped  to- 
gether near  the  edge  of  the  water,  the  mud  being  scraped  away  from  the 
front,  so  that  there  may  be  a  sufficient  depth  of  water  there  to  allow  free 
egress,  even  during  the  most  severe  frost.  The  winter  stores  of  the  animals, 
consisting  of  piles  or  heaps  of  wood,  are  also  always  under  water,  at  such  a 
depth  that  they  cannot  be  locked  up  in  ice.  When  the  depth  of  water  is  not 
sufficient,  the  beavers  construct  a  dam  across  the  stream,  by  the  side  of 
which  the  lodge  is  placed;  the  dam  is  sometimes  as  much  as  three  hundred 
yards  in  length,  convex  towards  the  current,  and  most  convex  in  the  strong- 
est currents,  sometimes  extending  on  both  sides  beyond  the  natural  channel 
of  the  stream.  The  materials  of  which  it  is  composed  are  sticks,  roots,  and 
branches,  with  stones,  moss,  grasses,  and  mud,  strangely  commingled,  but 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  structure  becomes  absolutely  water  tight. 
Branches,  of  which  the  bark  has  been  used  for  food,  or  taken  off  for  winter 
provender,  are  very  generally  employed  for  building  purposes.  In  their 
building,  beavers  interlace  small  branches  with  each  other  and  with  the 
larger;  and  a  beaver  kept  in  confinement  has  been  known  to  manifest  this 
instinct,  by  interlacing  branches  with  the  bars  of  its  cage,  while  it  also  filled 
the  interstices  with  carrots,  and  other  vegetables,  given  it  for  food,  nicely 
bitten  to  the  proper  size,  and  packed  in  snow,  to  protect  itself  from  the  cold. 
Beaver  dams  are  built  with  the  sides  inclining  towards  one  another,  so  that 
although  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide  at  bottom,  they  have  a  narrow  top.  The 
dams  and  houses  are  annually  repaired,  before  winter  comes  on,  the  work 
being  performed  by  night.  "  In  places,"  says  Hearne,  "  which  have  been 
long  frequented  by  beavers  undisturbed,  their  dams,  by  frequent  repairing, 
become  a  solid  bank,  capable  of  resisting  a  great  force,  both  of  water  and 
ice;  and  as  the  willow,  poplar,  and  birch  generally  take  root  and  shoot  up, 
they  by  degrees  form  a  kind  of  regular  planted  hedge,  which  I  have  seen 
in  some  places  so  tall  that  birds  have  built  their  nests  among  the  branches." 
A  broad  ditch  is  often  dug  all  around  the  lodge,  so  deep  that  it  cannot  freeze 
to  the  bottom,  and  into  it  the  beavers  make  the  holes  by  which  they  go  out 
and  bring  their  food.  The  larger  lodges  are,  in  the  interior,  about  seven 
feet  in  diameter,  and  between  two  and  three  feet  high.  The  top  is  formed 
of  branches  of  trees,  matted  with  mud,  grass,  moss,  etc.  The  walls  are  very 
thick,  and  the  whole  structure  not  only  secures  much  warmth,  but  is  a  suffi- 
cient protection  from  wolves,  wolverines,  and  other  beasts  of  prey.  Differ- 
ent apartments  have  often  one  common  roof,  but  they  have  usually  no  in- 
ternal communication.  The  sleeping-places  of  the  animals  are  around  the 
wall  of  their  lodge,  the  center  being  left  free;  they  are  formed  merely  of  a 
little  grass  or  tender  bark  of  trees.  A  single  house  seldom  contains  more 
than  ten  or  twelve  beavers,  but  many  such  families  are  often  congregated  in 
one  place.  Beavers,  both  in  a  wild  state  and  in  confinement,  are  scrupu- 
lously cleanly  in  their  habits.  ^ 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


105 


Beavers  often  sit  on  the  liind-feet  and  tail,  and  eat  in  .his  posture,  hold- 
ing vip  the  food  in  their  fore-paws.  They  also  walk  on  the  hind-feet,  with 
support  of  the  tail,  when  they  carry  materials  to  their  buildings,  except 
branches,  which  are  dragged.  They  have  considerable  power  in  the  tail, 
aud  not  unfrequently  flap  it,  which  has  given  rise  to  an  opinion,  perhaps 
not  altogether  erroneous,  that  they  use  their  tails  for  plastering  their  build- 
ings, or  beating  and  adjusting  the  mud  which  is  employed  in  them.  Beavers 
do  not  usually  eat  in  their  lodges,  but  in  holes  or  burrows  in  the  bank  of 
the  river,  the  entrance  to  which  is  from  beneath  the  water,  and  which  thence 
proceed  obliquely  upwards,  often  a  distance  of  many  feet.  To  these  holes 
the  beavers  also  flee  when  their  lodge  is  broken  up;  and  it  is  therefore  a 


THE  FERBET. 

common  practice  of  the  beaver  hunters  to  break  up  the  lodges,  that  they 
may  take  the  animals  in  their  holes  or  vaults.  Beavers  are  also  taken  by 
nets  and  traps. 

It  is  chiefly  in  winter  that  beavers  congregate  together.  During  summer 
they  wander  about  a  little.  The  young  are  generally  produced  in  April  or 
May,  from  two  to  seven  at  a  birth.  Their  eyes  are  open  when  they  are  born. 
Single  beavers  are  frequently  met  with,  which  live  apart  from  all  others  of 
their  species.  All  of  these  are  males,  which,  it  is  supposed,  have  been  con- 
quered and  driven  away  by  others  of  their  sex.  The  beaver  is  very  easily 
tamed;  but  no  wooden  cage  will  keep  one  confined.  Except  in  the  extra- 
ordinary building  instincts  already  noticed,  the  animal  exhibits  no  remark- 
able sagacity.  The  use  of  the  beaver's  fur  for  making  hats  is  well  known. 

The  Ferret.— This  animal  was  imported  into  Europe  from  Africa,  and 
was  well  known  to  the  Romans,  being  anciently  employed,  as  it  still  is,  in 
catching  rabbits,  for  which  purpose  it  is  often  sent  into  their  burrows  muz- 
zled, or  "  coped,"  by  means  of  a  piece  of  string,  to  drive  them  out  into  uetSj 


106       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

or,  with  a  string  attached  to  it,  it  is  allowed  to  seize  a  rabbit  in  the  burrows, 
and  is  then  drawn  out,  holding  it  fast.  The  usual  plan,  however,  is  to  let 
the  ferret  have  free  range  of  rabbit-holes  unmuzzled,  the  rabbits  being  shot 
as  they  bolt.  Attention  to  warmth  and  cleanliness  is  essential  to  the  health 
of  ferrets.  They  are  capable  only  of  partial  domestication,  acquiring  a  kind 
of  familiarity  with  man,  and  submitting  with  perfect  quietness  to  his  hand- 
ling, but  apparently  never  forming  any  very  decided  attachment;  and  they 
never  cease  to  be  dangerous  if  not  carefully  watched,  especially  where  in- 
fants are  within  their  reach.  If  allowed  any  measure  of  freedom,  they  are 
ready  to  attack  poultry,  and  kill  far  more  than  they  can  devour,  merely 
sucking  the  blood.  They  generally  breed  twice  a  year,  each  brood  consist- 
ing of  six  or  nine.  The  female  sometimes  devours  the  young  ones,  in  which 
case  another  brood  is  speedily  produced. 

Moles. — The  mole  is  a  miner,  living  an  almost  exclusively  subterranean 
life,  even  pursuing  its  prey  through  the  soil,  and  working  out  long  galleries 
in  the  chase.  It  would  appear  that  its  labors  are  exerted  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  very  different  objects.  Each  mole  may  be  said  to  have  its  own 
district  or  manor,  its  hunting-ground,  and  its  lodges;  and  this  ground  is 

traversed  by 
high-road 
tunnels,  in 
which  it  trav- 
els from  one 
part  to  an- 
other, all 
branching  off 
from  a  cen- 
tral fortress 
— its  ordinary 
residence, 
which  is  not, 
bowever,only 
distinct,  but 

often  remote  from  the  chamber  in  which  the  nest  Is  made  and  the 
young  reared.  We  will  begin  by  describing  the  fortress,  or  ordinary 
domicile.  This  fortress  is  constructed  under  a  hillock  of  considerable 
size  (not  one  of  those  which  we  ordinarily  see,  and  which,  thrown 
up  every  night,  indicate  its  hunting  excursions).  This  hillock  is  raised 
in  some  secure  place,  where  a  high  bank,  the  roots  of  a  tree  or  the 
base  of  a  wall,  afford  protection.  The  earth  forming  this  mound  is 
well  compacted  together,  and  made  solid  by  the  labors  of  the  architect;  and 
within  this  firm-set  mound  is  a  complex  arrangement  of  galleries,  and  pas- 
sages of  communication.  First,  a  circular  gallery  occupies  the  upper  por- 
tion of  the  mound,  and  this  communicates,  by  means  of  five  descending  pas- 
sages, with  another,  and  with  a  gallery  at  the  base  of  the  mound,  and  en- 
closing a  larger  area.  These  passages  are  nearly  at  equal  distances.  With- 
in the  area  of  this  lower  gallery  is  a  chamber,  not  immediately  communica- 
ting with  it,  but  with  the  upper  gallery,  by  three  abruptly  descending  tun- 
nels, so  that  to  get  into  the  basal  gallery  the  mole  has  first  to  ascend  to  the 
top  gallery,  and  from  that  descend  into  the  lower  gallery.  This  chamber  is 
the  dormitory  of  the  mole.  From  the  basal  gallery  opens  a  high-road  tun- 
nel, which  is  carried  out  in  a  direct  liuo  to  the  extent  of  the  manor  over 


THE  MOIiE. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  107 

which  the  individual  presides,  aud  from  the  bottom  of  the  central  chamber 
a  passage  descends,  and  then  sweeping  upward  joins  this  main  road  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  hillock,  so  that  the  mole  can  enter  the  high-road; 
eight  or  nine  other  tunnels  are  carried  out  from  the  basal  gallery;  they  are 
of  greater  or  less  extent,  and  wind  round  more  or  less  irregularly,  opening 
into  the  high-road  at  various  distances  from  the  hillock;  these  irregular  tun- 
nels the  mole  is  continually  extending  in  quest  of  prey,  throwing  up  the  soil 
above  the  turf,  through  holes  which  it  makes  for  the  purpose,  and  which 
from  the  ordinary  mole  hills  which  we  often  see  crowded  thickly  together. 
The  high  or  main  road  exceeds  in  diameter  the  body  of  the  mole,  and  is 
solid  and  well  trodden,  with  smooth  sides;  its  depth  varies,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  soil,  instinct  directing  the  little  excavator  in  his  work.  Ordi- 
narily it  is  five  or  six  inches  below  the  surface,  but  when  carried  under  a 
streamlet  or  pathway  it  is  often  a  foot  and  a  half  beneath.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  the  mole  will  drive  two  or  more  additional  high-roads,  which 
will  not  admit  of  two  passing  at  the  same  time;  one  therefore  must  retreat, 
but  when  two  males  thus  come  into  collision  they  frequently  attack  each 
other,  the  weaker  falling  a  victim  in  the  combat.  The  alleys  opening  from 
the  sides  of  the  high-road  are  generally  inclined  downward  with  a  gradual 
slope,  and  then  at  the  termination  of  these  the  mole  excavates  branch  alleys, 
upheaving  mole- hills  as  it  works  onward  in  pursuit  of  prey.  This,  however, 
is  not  invariably  the  case,  but  rather  where  prey  is  abundant  in  rich  soils. 
Where  the  soil  is  barren  the  mole  is  constantly  driving  fresh  alleys;  these 
in  winter  are  carried  deep  down  to  where  the  worms  have  pierced  their  way 
beyond  the  line  to  which  the  frost  penetrates;  for,  be  it  observed,  the  mole 
does  not  hybernate,  but  is  as  active  during  whiter  as  in  spring  or  summer, 
though  the  results  of  his  operations  are  less  manifest.  In  soft  rich  soils, 
•where  the  worms  are  among  the  roots  of  the  turf,  the  mole,  as  may  be  often 
noticed,  drives  very  superficial  runs  in  the  pursuit  of  them;  these  runs  are 
to  be  seen  where  a  thin  layer  of  richly  manured  soil  overlays  a  stratum  of 
gravel;  in  fact  the  depth  of  these  alleys  is  always  determined  by  the  quality 
of  the  soil  and  consequent  situation  of  the  worms.  With  respect  to  the  nest 
of  the  female,  it  is  generally  constructed  at  a  distance  from  the  fortress, 
where,  at  some  convenient  part,  three  or  four  passages  intersect  each  other; 
this  point  of  convergence  is  enlarged  and  rendered  commodious,  and  fitted 
to  receive  a  bed  made  of  dry  herbage,  fibrous  roots,  etc.  The  chamber  is 
generally  beneath  a  large  hillock,  but  not  always;  and  the  surrounding  soil 
is  usually  such  as  to  afford  abundani  food  to  the  female  with  little  trouble 
on  her  part.  The  mole  breeds  in  the  spring,  mostly  in  April,  and  brings 
forth  four  or  five  young  at  a  birth.  These  are  supposed  to  remain  under  the 
mother's  care  till  about  half  grown,  when  they  commence  an  independent 
existence. 

Baby  Monkeys. — Monkeys  are  born  in  almost  as  helpless  a  condition 
as  are  human  beings.  For  the  first  fortnight  after  birth  they  pass  their  time 
in  being  nursed,  sleeping,  and  looking  about  them.  During  the  whole  of 
this  time  the  care  and  attention  of  the  mother  are  most  exemplary;  the 
slightest  sound  or  movement  excites  her  immediate  notice;  and,  with  her 
baby  hi  her  arms,  she  skillfully  evades  any  approaching  danger  by  the  most 
adroit  manosuvres.  At  the  end  of  the  first  fortnight  the  little  one  begins  to 
get  about  by  itself,  but  always  under  the  mother's  watchful  care.  She  fre- 
quently attempts  to  teach  it  to  do  for  itself,  but  never  forgets  her  solicitude 
for  its  safety,  and  at  the  earliest  intimation  of  danger  seizes  it  in  her  arms 


100      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

and  seeks  a  place  of  refuge.  When  about  six  weeks  old  the  baby  begins  to 
need  more  substantial  nutriment  than  milk,  and  is  taught  to  provide  for 
himself.  Its  powers  are  speedily  developed,  and  in  a  few  weeks^its  agility 
is  most  surprising.  The  mother's  fondness  for  her  offspring  continues;  she 
devotes  all  her  care  to  its  comfort  and  education,  and  should  it  meet  with 
an  untimely  end,  her  grief  is  so  intense  as  frequently  to  cause  her  own 
death.  "  The  care  which  the  females  bestow  upon  their  offspring,"  says 
Duvancel,  "  is  so  tender  and  even  refined,  that  one  would  be  almost  tempted 
to  attribute  the  sentiments  to  a  rational  rather  than  an  instinctive  process. 
It  is  a  curious  and  interesting  spectacle,  which  a  little  precaution  has  some- 
times enabled  me  to  witness,  to  see  these  females  carry  their  young  to  the 
river,  wash  their  faces  in  spite  of  their  childish  outcries,  and  altogether  be- 
stow upon  their  cleanliness  a  time  and  attention  that  in  many  cases  the 
children  of  our  own  species  mig^it  well  envy.  The  Malays  indeed  related 
a  fact  to  me,  which  I  doubted  at  first,  but  which  I  believe  to  be  in  a  great 
measure  confirmed  by  my  own  subsequent  observation;  it  is,  that  the  young 
siamaiigs,  while  yet  too  weak  to  go  alone,  are  always  carried  by  individuals 
of  their  own  sex;  by  their  fathers  if  they  are  males,  by  their  mothers  if  fe- 
males." M.  d'Osbonville  states  that  the  parents  exercise  their  parental  au- 
thority over  then?  children  in  a  sort  of  judicial  and  strictly  impartial  form. 
"  The  young  ones  were  seen  to  sport  and  gambol  with  one  another  in  the 
presence  of  their  mother,  who  sat  ready  to  give  judgment  and  punish  mis- 
demeanors. When  any  one  was  found  guilty  of  foul  play  or  malicious  con- 
duct toward  another  of  the  family,  the  parent  interfered  by  seizing  the  young 
criminal  by  the  tail,  which  she  held  fast  with  one  of  her  paws  till  she  boxed 
his  ears  with  the  other." 

The  Diamond  Rattlesnake. — Of  all  the  snake  varieties  of  which  we 
have  yet  any  knowledge,  the  diamond  rattlesnake,  as  it  is  called,  seems  to 
be  most  deadly.  It  grows  to  a  length  of  six  or  seven  feet,  and  is  some- 
what thicker  than  a  man's  wrist.  It  is  armed  with  the  whitest  and  sharpest 
of  fangs,  nearly  an  inch  in  length,  with  cisterns  of  liquid  poison  at  their  base. 
A  terror  to  man  and  beast,  he  turns  aside  from  no  one,  although  he  will  not 
go  out  ot  his  way  to  attack  any  unless  pressed  by  hunger.  A  description  of 
his  movements  by  a  traveler  who  has  encountered  him  states  that  he  moves 
quietly  along,  his  gleaming  eyes  seeming  to  emit  a  greenish  light,  and  to 
,3hine  with  as  much  brilliancy  as  the  jewels  of  a  finished  coquette.  Nothing 
Heenis  to  escape  his  observation,  and  on  the  slightest  movement  near  him 
he  swings  into  a  fighting  attitude,  raising  his  upper  jaw  and  erecting  his 
fangs,  which  in  a  state  of  repose  lie  closely  packed  in  the  soft  muscles  of  the 
mouth.  This  snake  is  not  so  active  as  the  famous  copperhead  of  North 
America,  nor  so  quick  to  strike,  but  one  blow  is  almost  always  fatal.  His 
fangs  are  so  long  that  they  penetrate  deep  into  the  muscles  and  veins  of  his 
victim,  who  has  little  time  for  more  than  a  single  good-by  before  closing  his 
eyes  torever.  In  one  instance  the  fangs  were  found  to  be  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch  in  length,  and  though  not  thicker  than  a  common  sewing  needle, 
they  were  perforated  with  a  hole  through  which  the  greenish-yellow  liquid 
could  be  forced  in  considerable  quantities,  and  each  of  the  sacs  contained 
about  half  a  teaspoonful  of  the  most  terrible  and  deadly  poison. 

The  Crocodile This  reptile  may  be  described  as  lizard-like  in  form, 

with  a  great  gape,  indicative  of  their  characteristic  voracity,  and  with  the 
tail  flattened  at  the  sides,  so  as  to  become  a  powerful  organ  of  propulsion  in 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  109 

water.  The  fore-feet  have  five  toes,  the  hinder-foot  four,  the  throe  inner 
ones  only  being  armed  with  claws;  the  feet  are  more  or  less  webbed.  Each 
jaw  has  a  single  row  of  numerous  large  teeth,  which  are  couical  and  directed 
backwards;  planted  in  distinct  sockets,  and  becoming  hollowed  at  the  base, 
to  admit  the  crowns  of  the  new  and  larger  teeth  which  are  to  succeed  them 
as  the  animal  increases  hi  size.  Small  ribs  are  attached  to  the  vertebrae  of 
the  neck,  which  give  it  a  peculiar  stiffness,  and  make  it  difficult  for  the  ani- 
mal to  turn;  and  persons  pursued  by  crocodiles  may  make  their  escape  by 
rapid  turning.  The  eggs  of  the  crocodile  are  hard,  and  small  in  compari- 
son with  the  size  ultimately  attained  by  the  animal  itself.  The  females  of 
some,  if  not  of  all  the  species,  guard  their  eggs,  and  take  care  of  their  young; 


THE  CROCODILE. 


although  the  eggs,  buried  in  the  sand  or  mud,  are  hatched  by  the  heat  of 
the  sun  alone.  Crocodiles  swallow  stones,  apparently  to  assist  digestion. 
They  prey  on  fishes  and  warm-blooded  animals;  most  of  them  seem  to  pre- 
fer food  in  a  state  of  incipient  putrefaction,  and  they  are  even  said  to  hide 
their  prey,  and  to  return  to  it  when  it  has  reached  this  state.  Some  of  the 
larger  kinds  do  not  scruple  to  attack  man.  All  crocodiles  are  large  reptiles; 
they  are  found  in  fresh  waters  and  estuaries  in  the  warm  parts  of  the  world; 
none  are  found  in  Europe,  nor,  as  far  aa  is  yet  known,  in  Australia.  The 
crocodile  of  the  Nile  is  of  a  bronzed  green  color,  speckled  with  brown,  lighter 
beneath,  and  is  sometimes  thirty  feet  long.  It  often  seizes  human  beings 
for  its  prey.  In  "  Park's  Travels,"  an  instance  is  recorded  of  a  negro,  one 
of  his  guides,  who  was  thus  seized  in  the  Gambia,  and  escaped  by  thrusting 
his  fingers  into  the  crocodile's  eyes.  The  ancient  Egyptians  held  it  sacred, 
and  being  exempted  from  all  danger  on  the  part  of  man,  it  became  more 
bold  and  troublesome.  The  individuals  particularly  selected  as  the 
objects  of  idolatrous  worship  were  tamed,  and  took  part  in  religious  procea- 
ejons, 


110       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Alligator.— Alligators  differ  from  crocodiles  in  the  shorter  and 
flatter  head,  the  existence  of  cavities  or  pits  in  the  upper  jaw,  into  which 
(and  not  into  mere  notches  between  the  teeth,  as  in  the  crocodiles)  the  long 
fourth  teeth  of  the  under  jaw  are  received,  and  the  much  less  webbed  feet. 
Their  habita  are  less  perfectly  aquatic;  they  frequent  swamps  and  marshes, 
and  may  be  seen  basking  on  the  dry  ground  during  the  day,  in  the  heat  of 
the  sun.  They  are  most  active  during  the  night,  and  then  make  a  loud  bel- 
lowing. They  have  great  strength  in  their  tails,  with  which  the  larger  ones 
can  easily  upset  a  light  canoe.  They  feed  chiefly  on  fish,  but  do  not  object 
to  other  animal  food.  The  females  lay  their  eggs,  from  twenty  to  sixty  in 
number,  in  the  mud,  and  leave  them  to  be  hatched  by  the  sun,  but  keep 
watch  over  the  spot,  and  show  much  affection  for  their  young  ones,  many 


THE  ALLIGATOB. 

of  which,  however,  fall  a  prey  to  the  old  males,  and  to  vultures  and  fishes. 
There  are  several  species,  varying  from  two  to  twenty  feet  and  upwards  in 
length.  Perhaps  the  most  fierce  and  dangerous  is  that  found  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  United  States,  as  far  up  the  Mississippi  as  the  Red  Eiver.  In 
cold  weather,  these  animals  bury  themselves  in  the  mud,  and  become  so 
torpid,  that  they  may  be  cut  to  pieces  without  showing  signs  of  sensibility; 
but  a  few  hours  of  bright  sunshine  are  enough  to  revive  them.  Like  the 
other  species,  they  are  so  protected  by  their  mailed  plates  that  they  are  not 
easily  killed,  except  by  a  shot  or  blow  over  the  eyes.  A  very  strong  kind  of 
leather  is  prepared  from  the  skin,  which  is  used  for  making  saddles  and 
other  articles.  It  is  said  that  a  considerable  quantity  of  oil  can  be  extracted 
from  an  alligator,  which  is  transparent  and  burns  well.  Alligators  are  not 
known  to  exist  in  any  quarter  of  the  world  except  America,  in  which,  how- 
ever, crocodiles  are  also  found.  The  flesh  of  alligators  is  eaten  by  Indians 
and  negroes.  It  has  a  musky  flavor.  The  origin  of  the  name  is  uncertain, 
tat  it  ia  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  of  the  Portuguese  lagarto,  a  lizard.. 


NATURAL    HISTORY 


111 


Bats. — Sixteen  or  seventeen  distinct  species  of  bate  are  natives  of  the 
British  Islands.  Of  these,  however,  several  are  extremely  rare  and  re- 
stricted to  certain  localities;  but  some,  as  the  pipis  trelle,  or  common  bat, 
and  the  long-eared  bat  are  everywhere  abundant.  Of  all  the  mammalia  the 
bats  alone  emulate  in  their  serial  endowments  the  feathered  tenants  of  the 
sky;  they  are  essentially  flying  insectivora.  In  the  air  they  pass  the  active 
period  of  their  existence,  and  revel  in  the  exercise  of  their  faculties.  Their 
organs  of  flight,  admirably  adapted  for  their  destined  purpose,  do  not  con- 
sist, as  in  the  bird,  of  stiff  feathers  based  upon  the  bones  of  the  forearm,  but 
of  a  membraneous  expansion  stretched  over  and  between  the  limbs,  and  to 
which  the  bows  of  the  limbs,  especially  those  of  the  elongated  fingers,  serve 
the  same  purpose  as  the  strips  of  whalebone  in  an  umbrella.  This  apparatus 


THE  LONG-EAKED  BAT. 

can  be  folded  tip,  and  the  limbs  employed  in  progression  on  the  ground;  on 
a  level  surface,  however,  the  bat  shuffles  awkwardly  but  quickly  along.  In 
the  hollows  of  decayed  trees,  in  the  crevices  of  mouldering  masonry,  or  in 
the  rough  chinks  and  fissures,  it  can  crawl  and  climb  about  with  tolerable 
rapidity,  as  also  about  the  wire  work  of  a  cage.  It  is  a  smooth  and  level 
surface  that  most  embarrasses  the  bat,  but  even  then  it  can  easily  take  wind. 
In  the  air  the  bat  is  all  alertness — it  is  here  that  these  singular  creatures 
pursue  their  prey — uttering  their  short,  sharp  cry  as  they  wheel  in  circling 
flights,  or  perform  their  abrupt  and  zig-zag  evolutions.  The  bat  is  a  twi- 
light and  nocturnal  rambler;  it  passes  the  clay  in  its  retreat  svtspended  head 
downward,  clinging  to  any  roughness  or  projection  by  the  claws  of  its  hinder 
feet.  In  this  position  it  hybernates  in  a  state  of  lethargy,  numbers  congre- 
gating together.  Church-steeples,  hollow  trees,  old  barns,  caverns,  and 
similar  retreats,  are  its  lurking  places;  and  numbers  are  often  found  crowded 
together,  and  forming  a  compact  mass., 


112        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Colugo.— The  colugo  is  a  curious  bat-liko  animal,  which  may  bo 
found  in  Java,  Sumatra,  and  Borneo.  It  has  a  membrane  from  the  neck  to 
the  end  of  the  tail,  which,  being  attached  to  the  ends  of  the  four  limbs, 
plays  the  part  of  wings,  permitting  the  animal  to  sustain  itself  in  the  air  for 
even  a  longer  time  than  the  flying  squirrels.  The  colugos  hide  themselves 
during  the  day  in  the  most  lonely  parts  of  the  forests,  and  come  forth  at 
evening  in  search  of  food.  They  are  then  seen  moving  actively  among  the 
trees,  either  climbing  or  flying.  Their  flight  is  noiseless,  and  it  is  said  that 
they  can  clear  a  space  of  some  hundreds  of  yards.  They  feed  on  insects, 
fruits  and  small  birds.  In  order  to  rest,  these  animals  suspend  themselves 
by  their  hind  paws  to  the  branches  of  trees,  like  bats.  The  natives  of  the 


THE  COliTJGO. 

countries  they  inhabit  choose  this  time  for  capturing  them.    They  are  in 
need  of  their  flesh  for  food. 

Progs.— The  peeping  frog  is  totally  different  from  the  "  creaking  "  frog, 
and  well  repays  one's  attention.  It  is  commonly  thought  to  be  the  young  of 
the  bull-frog;  but  this  is  not  so;  it  seems  to  be  a  distinct  variety  of  the  frog 
family.  He  makes  himself  heard  in  the  spring  as  soon  as  the  ice  is  melted, 
and  is  most  musical  during  the  evening.  You  will  find  him  sitting  among 
the  old  brown  grasses  and  leaves  at  the  edge  of  the  water;  and  as  soon  as 
he  hears  your  footfall,  down  he  flattens  himself,  and  you  would  easily  mis- 
take him  for  a  brown  leaf,  but,  trusting  to  your  ears  and  not  eyes,  you  soon. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


113 


will  BOO  this  brown  leaf  cautiously  rise  up,  swell  its  little  throat  to  half  tho 
size  of  its  body,  and  give  a  "peep"  shrill  enough  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to 
what  makes  that  sound.  These  frogs  are,  when  sitting,  an  inch  long,  and 
vary  in  color  from  a  light  to  a  very  dark  brown.  They  are  easily  caught, 
and  by  putting  them  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  covered  with  thin  muslin; 
and  placing  this  under  a  hat,  or  in  any  place  away  from  the  light,  they  will 
continue  their  peeping  for  some  time. 

The  Paper  Nautilus — The  shell  of  the  paper  nautilus  is  not  cham- 
bered like  that  of  the  true  nautilus,  but  has  one  spiral  cavity,  into  which  the 
animal  can  entirely  withdraw  itself.  The  animal  has  no  muscular  attach- 
ment to  the  shell,  and  some  naturalists  therefore  suspected  that  it  might  be 


THE  PAPER  NAUTILUS. 

merely,  like  the  hermit  crab,  the  inhabitant  of  a  shell  originally  belonging 
to  some  other  animal;  but  this  question  has  been  set  at  rest  by  the  observa- 
tions of  Madame  Power,  proving  the  beautiful  but  fragile  shell  to  be  the  pro- 
duction of  the  paper  nautilus  itself.  It  has,  however,  also  been  discovered 
that  the  shell  is  peculiar  to  the  female,  and  does  not  answer  the  ordinary 
purposes  of  the  shells  of  mollusca,  but  rather  that  of  an  "  incubating  and 
protective  nest."  The  eggs,  which  are  very  numerous,  are  attached  to 
filamentary  stalks,  and  by  these  the  whole  compacted  mass  is  united  to  the 
involuted  spire  of  the  shell,  where  it  ia  usually  concealed  by  the  body  of  the 
parent. 

Flying  Fish.. — This  is  the  name  given  to  all  those  fishes  which  have  the 
pectoral  fins  so  very  large  that  by  means  of  them  they  are  sustained  in  short 


114       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

seeming  flights  in  the  air.  They  swim  in  shoals;  and  whole  shoals— varying 
in  number  from  a  dozen  to  one  hundred  or  more --often  leave  the  water  at 
once,  darting  in  the  same  direction  through  the  air,  and  alter  descending 
into  the  water  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards  or  even  more,  from  the 
place  where  they  arose,  quickly  renewing  their  flight.  These  flights  of  flying 
fishes  form  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  pleasing  spectacles  which  relieve 
the  monotony  of  a  voyage  in  the  tropical  seas.  Sometimes,  the  coryphene 
(dolphin)  may  be  seen  in  rapid  pursuit,  taking  great  leaps  out  of  the  water, 
and  gaining  upon  his  prey,  which  take  shorter  and  shorter  flights,  vainly 
try  to  escape  their  persistent  foe,  until  they  sink  fit  last  exhausted;  some- 


THE    FLYING  FISH. 

times  the  larger  sea-birds  catch  flying  fishes  whilst  they  are  in  the  ah*. 
They  occasionally  rise  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet  above  the  water,  although 
they  more  frequently  skiin  along  nearer  to  its  surface.  They  often  fall  on 
the  decks  of  ships.  They  are  good  food,  and  the  natives  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands  take  them  by  means  of  small  nets  attached  to  light  poles,  like  those 
in  which  anglers  catch  minnows  lor  bait.  For  this  purpose,  they  go  out  at 
night  in  canoes,  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  coral  reefs,  with  a  torch,  which 
enables  them  to  see  the  fishes,  and  perhaps  both  attracts  and  dazzles  them. 

The  Sea  Horse.— This   remarkable  fish  is   found   near   our   South 
American  coasts.    It  belongs  to  the  singular  order  known  as  Lophobranch, 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


115 


or  tuft-gilled,  which  differ  from  other  fishes  in  the  peculiar  structure  of  the 
gill  arches,  by  which  the  gills  are  arranged  in  little  tufts  on  each  side  of  the 
head,  under  the  cheek  bones  or  gill  covers.  The  structure  of  the  sea  horse's 
tail  is  unlike  that  of  any  other  fish,  being  covered  with  an  envelope,  con- 
sisting of  long  scales,  four-sided,  prehensile,  like  that  of  a  monkey,  and  of 
considerable  length.  In  the  act  of  excluding  its  young,  it  catches  its  tail 
around  some  object,  such  as  a  shell,  and  drawing  its  pouch  downward 
against  the  object,  pushes  up  tho  contents,  forcing  the  young  out  of  the 
opening  at  the  top  of  the  pouch.  The  sea  horse  is  a  very  pretty  creature.  Ita 
general  color  is  ashen 
gray;  an  exceeding- 
ly sober  suit.  But  if 
examined  more  close- 
ly, it  will  be  found 
thickly  studded  with 
tiny  spangles  of  me- 
tallic silver;  it  has 
pretty  golden  eyes, 
which,  independent 
of  each  other,  intent- 
ly gaze  two  ways  at 
once.  Thus  the  sea 
horse,  though  anom- 
alous in  form  and 
habit,  has  beauty 
united  with  its 
strange  features,  and 
grace  with  its  eccen- 
tricity. 

Brazilian  Tur- 
tles.— The  size  of 
Brazilian  turtles  may 
be  imagined  from  the 
fact  that  the  flippers 
and  feet  of  one,  in 
crawling  over  the 
sand,  leave  a  track  of 
two  irregular  grooves 
three  or  four  feet 
apart,  as  though  a 

great   wagon  with  THE  SKA  HOESE. 

cog-wheels  had  been 

driven  over  the  ground.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  find  a  turtle's  nest  by  this 
track.  She  comes  out  of  the  sea,  and  travels  far  up  the  beach  to  lay  her 
eggs  in  the  sand,  digging  a  hole  two  feet  deep  for  the  nest.  Professor  Hart 
says  that  he  saw  a  turtle  deposit  one  hundred  and  forty-three  eggs  in  one  of 
these  nests.  The  eggs  are  all  laid  at  one  sitting,  covered  with  sand,  and  left 
to  hatch.  They  are  round  and  rather  larger  than  hens'  eggs.  The  Brazilians 
eat  the  eggs,  and  also  the  flesh  of  the  turtle.  The  creature  is  captured  in  a 
curious  way.  Two  persons  go  behind  it,  and,  taking  hold  of  the  shell,  turn 
the  animal  on  its  back,  in  which  position  it  is  at  tho  mercy  of  its  captors,  as 
it  is  impossible  for  it  to  turn  on  its  teet  again. 


116        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


THE  LYBE-BIBD. 


NAT  UK  At    ITISTOltY.  117 

The  Lyre-Bird. — Only  two  species  of  this  singular  bird  are  described, 
both  natives  of  Australia.  The  common  lyre-bird  has  been  placed  among 
pheasants.  Its  name  indicates  its  general  resemblance  to  these.  The  length 
is  about  forty-three  inches,  of  which  the  tail  is  twenty-five;  the  bill  is  rather 
more  than  an  inch  long,  resembling  that  of  a  peacock,  strong,  keeled,  broad 
at  the  base,  and  oi  a  black  color;  the  nostrils  long  and  narrow,  in  a  fosse 
near  the  middle  of  its  length;  the  wings  moderate  and  rounded;  the  body 
about  the  size  of  that  of  a  pheasant;  tail  very  long  and  of  a  singular  form, 
differing  in  the  two  sexes.  The  general  color  above  is  brownish  black,  and 
grayish  brown  below;  the  head  slightly  crested,  and  the  throat  rufous; 
there  are  three  kinds  of  feathers  in  the  tail,  which  are  long,  and  sixteen  in 
number;  twelve  have  long,  slender  shafts  with  delicate  filaments,  more  and 
more  distant  toward  the  end;  the  middle  two  feathers,  longer  than  the  rest, 
are  pointed  at  the  end  and  barbed  only  on  the  inner  edge;  the  external  two 
feathers  are  broad,  growing  wider  to  the  ends,  and  curving  outward,  like  an 
elongated  S,  the  two  resembling  much  the  outlines  of  the  ancient  lyre. 
They  are  shy,  running  rapidly  among  the  brushwood;  they  live  in  pairs,  in 
rocky  places  overgrown  with  bushes. 

The  Ostrich — The  ostrich  is  the  largest  of  all  birds  now  existing, 
being  from  six  to  eight  feet  in  height  to  the  top  of  its  head,  and  an  adult 
male  weighing  from  two  to  three  hundred  pounds.  The  male  is  rather 
larger  than  the  female.  The  head  and  upper  part  of  the  neck  are  scantily 
covered  with  a  thin  down,  through  which  the  skin  is  visible.  The  young 
have  the  head  and  neck  clothed  with  feathers.  The  general  plumage  ia 
glossy  black  in  the  adult  male,  dark  gray  in  the  female  and  young,  with  a 
slight  sprinkling  of  white  feathers;  the  long  plumes  of  the  wings  and  tail  are 
white,  occasionally  marked  with  black.  On  each  wing  are  two  plumeless 
shafts,  not  unlike  porcupine's  quills.  The  inner  toe  is  very  large,  about 
seven  inches  long,  and  its  claw  hoof-like.  Whilst  the  sternum  is  destituta 
of  a  keel,  and  the  muscles  which  move  the  wings  are  comparatively  weak, 
those  which  move  the  legs  are  of  prodigious  strength,  so  that  the  ostrich  ia 
not  only  capable  of  running  with  great  speed,  but  of  striking  such  a  blow 
with  its  foot  as  to  make  it  too  formidable  for  the  leopard  and  other  large 
beasts  of  prey  to  assail  it.  It  has  been  often  known  to  rip  open  a  dog  by  a 
single  stroke,  and  a  man  is  recorded  to  have  suffered  the  same  fate.  Tho 
eyes  of  the  ostrich  are  large,  and  the  lida  are  furnished  with  lashes.  Ita 
fight  is  keen,  so  that  it  descries  objects  at  a  great  distance  in  the  open 
desert. 

The  ostrich  shuns  the  presence  of  man,  but  is  often  to  be  seen  in  near 
proximity  to  herds  of  zebras,  quaggas,  giraffes,  antelopes  and  other  quad- 
rupeds. It  is  gregarious,  although  the  flocks  are  not  generally  very  large. 
It  is  polygamous,  one  male  usually  appropriating  to  himself,  when  he  can, 
from  two  to  seven  females,  which  seem  to  make  their  nest  in  common, 
scooping  a  mere  hole  in  the  sand  for  this  purpose.  Each  female  is  supposed 
to  lay  about  ten  eggs.  The  eggs  are  all  placed  on  end  in  the  nest,  which 
often  contains  a  large  number,  whilst  around  it  eggs  are  generally  to  be 
found  scattered  on  the  sand.  By  a  remarkable  instinct,  the  ostrich  site 
upon  the  eggs  by  night,  when  the  cold  would  be  too  great  for  them,  and 
leaves  them  to  the  sun's  heat  during  the  day.  It  feeds  exclusively  on 
vegetable  substances,  its  food  consisting  in  great  part  of  grasses  and  their 
seeds;  so  that  its  visits  are  much  dreaded  by  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  in 
the  vicinity  of  its  haunts,  a  flock  of  ostriches  soon  making  terrible  devasta- 


118       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

tion  of  a  field  of  corn.  The  speed  of  the  ostrich,  when  it  first  sets  out,  ia 
supposed  to  be  not  less  than  sixty  miles  an  hour;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  be 
capable  of  keeping  up  this  speed  for  a  long  time.  It  is  successfully  hunted 
by  men  on  horseback,  who  take  advantage  of  its  habit  of  running  in  a  curve, 
instead  of  a  straight  line,  so  that  the  hunter  knows  how  to  proceed  in  order 
to  meet  it  and  get  within  shot.  It  is  often  killed  in  South  Africa  by  men 
who  envelop  themselves  in  ostrich  skins,  and  admirably  imitating  the  man- 
ners of  the  bird,  approach  it  near  enough  for  their  purpose,  without  exciting 
its  alarm,  and  sometimes  kill  one  after  another. 

The  eggs  of  the  oetrich  are  much  esteemed  as  an  article  of  food  by  the 
rude  natives  of  Africa.    Each  egg  weighs  about  three  pounds.    They  are 


THE  OSTKICH. 

usually  dressed  by  being  set  upright  on  a  fire  and  stirred  about  with  a 
forked  stick,  inserted  through  a  hole  in  the  upper  end.  The  thick  shell  ia 
applied  to  many  uses,  but  particularly  for  water-vessels.  In  taking 
ostrich  eggs  from  the  nest  the  South  African  is  careful  not  to  touch  any 
with  the  hand,  but  uses  a  long  stick  to  draw  them  out,  that  the  birds  may 
not  detect  the  smell  of  the  intruder,  in  which  case  they  would  forsake  the 
Best. 

The  great  value  of  the  feathers  has  induced  men  of  late  years  to 
engage  in  the  domestication  of  this  bird,  and  ostrich  farming  is  now 
a  most  lucrative  employment  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  is  said 
that  a  full-grown  bird  yields  one  hundred  feathers  at  a  picking,  which 
coll  at  Cape  Colony  for  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


119 


The  Condor.— Tho  condor  is  a  native  of  the  Andes,  and  the  largest  of 
known  flying  birds.  The  wings  are  long,  measuring  fourteen  feet  when 
spread,  and  extremely  powerful;  the  tail  short,  and  wedge-shaped;  the  gen- 
eral color  black,  which  is  brightest  in  old  males,  the  young  being  of  a 
brownish  color,  which  has  given  rise  to  a  notion  that  there  are  two  species; 
the  males  are  also  distinguished  by  having  great  part  of  the  wings  white. 
Around  the  lower  part  of  the  neck  of  both  sexes  there  is  a  broad  white  ruff 


THE  CONDOB. 


of  downy  feathers,  above  which  the  skin  is  bare,  and  exhibits  many  folds. 
The  condor  feeds  mostly  on  carrion.  Its  voracity  is  enormous.  Tschudi 
mentions  one  in  confinement  at  Valparaiso  which  ate  eighteen  pounds  of 
meat  in  a  single  day,  and  seemed  next  day  to  have  as  good  an  appetite  as  usual. 
They  inhabit  regions  10,000  or  15,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  where 
they  breed,  making  no  nest,  but  laying  their  eggs  on  the  bare  rocks,  and 
where  they  are  usually  seen  in  small  groups.  To  these  haunts  they  return, 


120       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VREPVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

after  their  descents  into  the  plains  for  food.  The  height  to  which  the  con- 
dor soars  in  the  air  exceeds  that  of  any  other  bird,  and*  is  said  to  be  almost 
six  perpendicular  miles  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  or  nearly  six  times  the 
ordinary  height  of  the  clouds. 

The  Vulture — Vultures  are  mostly  found  hi  warm  climates,  and 
many  of  them  are  inhabitants  of  mountainous  regions.  They  feed  on 
carrion,  which  it  seems  to  be  their  office  in  nature  to  remove  from  the  face 
of  the  earth,  that  the  evil  consequences  of  its  corruption  may  be  prevented. 


THE  VULTUKE. 

They  seldom  attack  a  living  animal,  but  they  have  been  seen  to  sit  and 
watch  the  approach  of  death,  waiting  for  their  feast.  They  are  not  in  gen- 
eral courageous  birds,  and  often  put  to  flight  by  birds  much  smaller  than 
themselves;  yet,  if  unmolested,  they  readily  become  familiar  with  the  pres- 
ence of  man,  and  some  of  them  seek  their  food  even  in  the  streets  of  towns, 
in  which  they  are  useful  as  scavengers.  They  gorge  themselves  excessively 
when  food  is  abundant,  till  their  crops  form  a  great  projection,  and  sit  long 
in  a  sleepy  or  half-torpid  state  to  digest  their  food.  They  do  not  carry  food 
to  their  young  in  their  claws,  but  disgorge  it  for  them  from  the  crop.  The 


NATURAL    El S TO  11  Y. 


121 


bareness  of  their  head  and  neck  adapts  them  for  feeding  on  putrid  flesh, 
by  which  feathers  would  bo  defiled;  and  they  are  very  careful  to  wash  and 
cleanse  their  plumage. 

The  Solitaire. — The  solitaire  is  a  wingless  bird  of  the  dodo  family. 
The  male  is  brownish  gray,  a  little  larger  than  a  turkey,  but  the  beak  is 
more  hooked  and  the  neck  longer  and  straighter;  the  tail  very  short,  and 
the  posterior  part  of  the  body  rounded;  the  eyes  black  and  lively,  the  head 


THE  SOLITAIKE. 

without  comb  or  crest.  The  female  smaller  and  lighter  colored.  It  re- 
ceived its  name  from  its  being  generally  seen  alone.  It  is  a  native  of  the 
island  Rodriguez,  a  few  miles  east  of  Mauritius.  It  is  monogamous,  making 
a  nest  on  the  ground  of  the  leaves  of  the  palm,  laying  one  egg,  larger  than 
that  of  a  goose;  the  young  require  to  be  fed  in  the  nest.  The  flesh  is  said  to 
be  fat  and  good  eating,  and  the  food  the  fruit  of  the  date  palm. 

The  Bittern. — Bitterns  are  chiefly  distinguished  from  herons  by  the 
long,  loose  plumage  of  the  neck,  which  they  have  the  power  of  erecting  at 


122       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

pleasure,  •with  the  rest  of  their  clothing  feathers,  so  as  greatly  to  increase 
their  apparent  size.  The  back  of  the  neck,  however,  is  merely  downy,  or 
almost  bare,  the  long  feathers  being  on  the  front  and  sides.  Bitterns  also 
differ  from  herons  in  the  greater  length  of  their  toes,  the  middle  toe  being 
as  long  as  tho  shank.  They  are  almost  all  solitary  birds,  inhabiting  reedy 
and  marshy  places,  where  they  lie  during  the  day,  and  will  almost  allow 
themselves  to  be  trodden  upon  ere  they  take  "wing;  they  feed  during  tho 
night,  and  then  often  rise  spirally  to  a  great  height  into  the  air,  and  emit 
loud  resounding  cries.  Tneir  iood  consists  chiefly  of  frogs,  and  partly,  also, 
offish,  lizards,  •water-insects,  etc.,  and  even  of  small  birds  and  quadrupeds. 


THE  BITTEBN. 

The  claw  of  the  middle  toe  is  serrated  on  the  inner  edge,  probably  to  aid  in 
securing  slippery  prey.  The  bird  is  very  widely  diffused  over  the  world, 
being  found  in  almost  all,  at  least  of  the  temperate,  parts  of  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa  and  North  America,  which  are  sufficiently  marshy  for  its  manner  of 
life.  In  size  it  is  rather  less  than  the  common  heron;  the  bill  is  about  four 
inches  long,  the  feathers  on  the  crown  of  the  head  are  greenish  black,  and 
the  plumage  in  general  of  a  dull  yellow  color,  beautifully  and  irregularly 
marked  and  mottled  with  black.  It  makes  a  rude  nest  of  sticks,  reeds,  etc., 
in  its  marshy  haunts,  and  lays  four  or  five  greenish-brown  eggs.  It  has  a 
peculiar  bellowing  cry,  which  has  obtained  for  it  auch  names  as  M\rc-drum, 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


123 


Bull  of  the  Bog,  etc.  Some  naturalists  used  to  assert  that  the  booming  cry  of 
the  bittern  was  produced  by  the  bird  inserting  its  bill  into  a  reed;  that  no- 
tion, however,  has  long  since  been  exploded.  When  assailed,  it  fights  des- 
perately with  bill  and  claws;  and  it  is  dangerous  to  approach  it  incautiously 
when  wounded,  as  its  strikes  with  its  long  sharp  bill,  if  possible,  at  the 
eye. 

The  Heron. — The  bill  of  the  heron  is  long,  compressed,  and  sharp;  the 
tail  short;  the  legs  and  the  toes  long  and  slender;  the  wings  long;  the  bill  is 
slender,  but  strong,  forming  a  compressed  and  lengthened  cone;  the 
plumage  is  beautiful,  but  seldom  exhibits  very  gay  colors;  white,  brown, 
black,  and  slate  color,  finely  blended,  being  generally  predominant.  The 
body  is  small  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  the  neck  and  limbs;  the  neck  is 
long,  and,  except  in  flight,  is  usually  held  curved.  In  flight,  the  heron  car- 


THE   HERON. 

ries  the  neck,  head,  and  long  bill  in  a  straight  line  before  the  body,  and  the 
long  legs  in  like  manner  stretched  out  behind.  Herons  feed  mostly  on  fish, 
frogs,  and  other  aquatic  animals;  and  may  be  seen,  particularly  very  early 
in  the  morning  and  late  in  the  evening,  standing  patiently  motionless  in 
some  shallow  water,  at  the  margin  of  a  lake  or  stream,  or  on  the  sea-shore, 
waiting  till  prey  come  within  reach.  In  default  of  their  more  common  food, 
however,  herons  sometimes  prey  on  young  birds,  reptiles,  and  the  smaller 
mammalia.  They  usually  go  forth  singly  in  quest  of  prey,  but  are  mostly 
gregarious. 

The  Cuckoo.— The  name  cuckoo  is  derived  from  the  note  of  the  male, 
which,  although  monotonous,  is  always  heard  with  pleasure.  It  frequents 
both  cultivated  districts  and  moors.  There  is  no  pairing  or  continued  at- 


124       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

tachment  of  the  male  and  female,  and  the  female,  after  having  laid  an  egg  on 
the  ground,  deposits  it,  with  her  beak,  in  the  nest  of  some  other  smaller 
bird,  leaving  the  egg  to  be  hatched  and  the  young  one  to  be  fed  by  the 
proper  owners  of  the  nest.  The  egg  of  the  cuckoo  is  very  small  for  so  large 
a  bird,  being  not  larger  than  the  skylark's,  and  the  number  she  will  lay  is 
uncertain;  but  the  young  one  soon  acquires  size  and  strength  enough  to 
eject  from  the  nest  any  eggs  which  may  remain  in  it,  or  unfortunate  young 
birds,  the  true  offspring  of  its  foster-parents,  and  it  seems  restless  and  un- 
easy till  this  is  accomplished.  It  works  itself  under  them,  and  then  jerks 
them  out  by  a  motion  of  its  rump.  Its  back  at  this  early  age  exhibits  a  pe- 
culiar depression  between  the  shoulders,  so  that  an  egg  or  a  young  bird  can 
easily  be  got  to  lie  upon  it;  but  this  depression  soon  disappears,  and  with  it 

the  singular  instinct  with 
which  it  is  supposed  to  be 
connected. 

The  Roseate  Spoon- 
bill.— Spoonbill  is  the  com- 
mon name  of  the  wading 
birds,  characterized  by  a  much 
depressed  bill,  very  broad  and 
dilated  at  the  end  in  the  shape 
of  a  rounded  spoon.  Wings 
long,  second  quill  the  longest; 
tail  short;  legs  long;  toes 
webbed  at  the  base.  There 
are  about  a  half  dozen  species, 
found  in  all  quarters  of  the 
globe,  migrating  to  warm  cli- 
mates at  the  approach  of  win- 
ter. They  frequent  marshy 
inlets  of  the  sea  and  the  bor- 
ders of  lakes  and  rivers,  wad- 
ing about  in  search  of  fish, 
worms,  frogs;  they  can  swim 
and  even  dive.  The  roseate 
spoonbill  is  about  thirty 
inches  long,  the  bill  being 
seven  inches,  and  covered 
with  a  soft  skin;  the  head  is 
of  moderate  size,  bare,  the 
skin  yellowish  green,  the  neck  long  and  slender,  and  body  compact.  The 
color  is  rosy  red,  paler  in  front,  and  white  on  the  neck;  and  lower  part  of 
the  throat  bright  carmine;  tail  feathers,  ochrey  yellow;  the  young  have 
the  head  leathered,  ijie  carmine  tint  wanting  and  the  tail  rosy.  It  is 
found  in  the  southern  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States,  and  is  abundant  in  the 
Indian  river,  Florida.  They  are  essentially  nocturnal,  though  they  often 
feed  by  day  when  the  tide  suits;  they  fly  with  the  neck  and  legs  ex- 
tended, and  rise  rapidly  to  a  great  height.  They  alight  easily  on  trees,  and 
can  walk  on  the  large  branches;  the  nest  is  usually  in  the  top  of  a  mangrove, 
coarsely  made;  the  eggs  are  three,  white,  sprinkled  all  over  with  bright 
spots.  They  breed  and  are  seen  in  flocks;  the  beautiful  feathers  of  the 
wings  are  made  into  fans. 


THE  BOSEATE  SPOONBILL. 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


125 


The  Eagle. — From  the  most  ancient  times,  the  eagle  has  been  univer- 
sally regarded  as  the  emblem  of  might  and  courage;  and,  like  the  lion,  it 
has  been  fancifully  invested  with  other  attributes  of  greatness,  such  as  men 
thought  to  harmonize  with  these.  Its  extraordinary  power  of  vision,  the 
vast  height  to  which  it  soars  in  the  sky,  the  wild  grandeur  of  the  scenery 
amidst  which  it  chiefly  loves  to  make  its  abode,  and  perhaps  also  its  lon- 
gevity, have  concurred  to  recommend  it  to  poetic  regard.  The  golden  eagle 
is  the  largest  of  the  European  species,  and  is  found  not  only  throughout 
Europe,  preferring  wild  and  mountainous  situations,  but  throughout  almost 
the  whole  northern 
hemisphere;  it  is 
among  the  birds  of 
India,  of  the  north 
of  Africa,  and  of 
North  America;  and 
the  savage  warrior 
of  the  Kocky  Moun- 
tains, as  well  as  the 
Highland  chieftain, 
glories  in  his  eagle 
plume.  It  builds  its 
nest  only  in  moun- 
tainous  districts, 
carrying  a  few  sticks 
and  brambles  to  the 
inaccessible  shelf  of 
a  rocky  precipice, 
where  the  eggs  are 
deposited  almost  on 
the  bare  rock. 

The  Stork. 
The  stork  is  about 
three  feet  and  a  half 
inlength.  Thehead, 
neck,  and  whole 
body  are  pure  white 
— the  wings  partly 
black— and  the  bill 
and  legs  red.  The 
neck  is  long  and 
generally  carried  in  an  arched  form;  the  feathers  of  the  breast  are  long  and 
pendulous,  and  the  bird  often  has  its  bill  half  hidden  among  them.  It  fre- 
quents marshy  places,  feeding  on  eels  and  other  fishes,  batrachians,  reptiles, 
young  birds  and  small  mammals.  It  makes  a  rude  nest  of  sticks,  reeds, 
etc.,  on  the  tops  of  tall  trees,  or  of  ruins,  spires  or  houses.  In  many  parts 
of  Europe,  especially  in  Holland,  it  is  a  very  common  practice  to  place  boxes 
for  storks,  and  it  is  considered  a  fortunate  thing  for  a  household  that  the 
box  on  the  roof  is  oecupied.  Storks  are  protected  by  law  in  some  countries, 
on  account  of  their  good  services  not  only  in  destroying  reptiles  and  other 
troublesome  animals,  but  in  the  removal  of  offal  from  the  streets  of  towns, 
in  which  they  stalk  about  with  perfect  confidence,  even  in  the  midst  of 
throngs  of  people.  They  have  been  celebrated  from  ancient  times  for  the 


THE  STOKK. 


126       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


affection  which  they  display  towards  their  young;  and  have  also  had  the 
reputation  —  not  eo  well  founded—  of  showing  great  regard  to  their  aged 
parents.  Before  they  take  their  departure  from  their  summer  haunts,  they 
congregate  in  large  flocks,  which  make  a  great  noise  by  the  clattering  of 
their  mandibles,  and  are  popularly  regarded  as  holding  consultation.  The 
Btork  has  no  voice.  Its  flight  is  powerful  and  very  high  in  the  air. 

The  Crane  __  The  family  to  which  this  bird  belongs  differs  from  herona, 
bitterns,  storks,  etc.,  in  having  the  hind-toe  placed  higher  on  the  leg  than 

the  front  ones,  It 
consists  also  of 
birds  less  addicted 
to  marshy  places, 
and  which  feed  not 
only  on  animal,  but, 
to  a  considerable 
extent,  on  vegetable 
food.  They  are  all 
large  birds,  long 
legged,  long  necked 
and  of  powerful 
wing,  although 
their  wings  are 
rounded  and  not 
elongated;  some  of 
them  performing 
great  migrations, 
and  flying  at  a  pro- 
digious height  in 
the  air.  The  crane 
breeds  in  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Eu- 
rope, Asia,  and 
North  America,  re- 
tiring in  winter  to 
tropic  al  or  sub- 
tropical regions. 
When  standing,  it 
is  about  four  feet 

THE  CRANE.  m  height'  thfe  P16" 

vailing  color  is  ash- 

pray,  the  face  and  throat  nearly  black,  the  wing  primaries  black.  The  ter- 
ti'al  feathers  of  the  wings  are  elongated,  reaching  beyond  the  ends  of  the 
primaries,  and  their  webs  are  unconnected;  they  are  varied  and  tipped  with 
bluish-black,  and  are  the  well-known  plumes  once  much  used  in  ornamental 
head  dresses.  It  feeds  on  roots,  seeds,  etc.,  as  well  as  on  worms,  insects, 
reptiles,  and  even  some  of  the  smallest  quadrupeds. 

The  Crested  Grebe.—  Grebe  is  the  generally  accepted  name  for  all 
the  birds  of  the  family  Podieipedida,  belonging  to  the  group  Pygopodes  ol 
Uliger,  members  of  which  inhabit  almost  all  parts  of  the  world.  Grebes  are 
at  once  distinguishable  from  all  other  water-birds  by  their  very  short  body 
vid  the  peculiar  structure  of  their  feet,  which  are  not  only  placed  far  behind, 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


127 


but  have  the  tarsi  flattened  and  elongated  toes  furnished  with  broad  lobes 
of  skin.  In  Europe  there  are  five  well-marked  species;  North  America  is 
credited  with  seven,  while  South  America  possesses  five.  The  crested 
grebe,  known  in  some  parts  of  England  as  the  loon,  is  widely  spread  over 
both  worlds,  and  though  apparently  not  iound  within  the  tropics,  is  known 
in  the  extreme  south  as  a  native  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Grebes  in 
general,  though  averse  to  taking  wing,  have  much  greater  powers  of  flight 
than  would  seem  possible  on  examination  of  their  alar  organs,  and  are  ca- 


THE  CRESTED  GEEBE. 

pable  of  prolonged  serial  journeys.  The  plumage  is  short  and  close.  Above, 
it  is  commonly  of  some  shade  of  brown,  but  beneath  it  is  invariably  white, 
and  so  glossy  as  to  be  in  much  request  for  muffs  and  the  trimming  of  ladies' 
dresses.  Some  species  are  remarkable  for  the  crests  or  tippets,  generally 
of  a  golden  chestnut  color,  they  assume  in  the  breeding  season.  P.  aurttus, 
the  subject  of  our  engraving,  is  particularly  remarkable  in  this  respect,  and 
when  in  the  full  nuptial  attire  presents  an  extraordinary  aspect,  the  head 
(being  surmounted,  as  it  were,  by  a  nimbus  or  aureole,  such  as  that  with 
which  painters  adorn  saintly  characters),  reflecting  the  rays  of  light,  glitters 
with  a  glory  that  passes  description.  Young  grebes  are  beautiful  objects, 
clothed  with  black,  white  and  brown  hair  disposed  in  streaks,  and  their  bill 


128       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

often  brilliantly  tinted  with  yellow.  On  land  they  are  awkward  creatures, 
but  in  water  they  equal,  if  indeed  they  do  not  surpass,  their  parents,  in  the 
power  of  diving,  which  is  a  special  accomplishment  of  all  grebes. 

The  Cormorant.  —This  is  a  genus  of  web-footed  birds  of  the  family 
Pelecanidce  having,  like  the  rest  of  that  family,  the  hind-toe  united  in  a  single 
membrane  with  the  other  toes.  The  species  are  distributed  over  the  coasts 
of  most  parts  of  the  world;  some  of  them  occasionally  ascending  rivers  in 
pursuit  of  fish,  on  which  all  of  them  exclusively  live,  and  even  visiting  inland 
lakes.  They  are  proverbial  for  their  excessive  voracity.  They  do  not  take 
their  prey  by  diving  when  on  wing,  but  pursue  it  by  swimming  and  diving, 
using  their  wings  in  progress  under  water,  and  descend  to  a  wonderful 


THE  CORMORANT. 

depth;  the  smaller  of  the  two  British  species  has  been  caught  in  a  crab-pot 
fastened  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  under  water.  When  the  prey  has 
been  caught  in  a  manner  inconvenient  for  swallowing,  they  toss  it  in  the  air, 
and  adroitly  catch  it  as  it  descends.  Some  of  the  species  frequent  high 
rocks,  others  low  islands,  on  which  they  make  rude  nests,  chiefly  of  sea- 
weed; some  perch  and  even  build  their  nests  on  mangroves  and  other  trees. 
Their  eggs  are  covered  with  a  calcareous  incrustation.  The  flesh  of  all  the 
species  is  dark,  and  of  a  fishy  taste,  but  is  sometimes  used  as  food,  particu- 
larly that  of  young  birds.  The  commonest  species  are  the  common  cormo- 
rant, which  is  mostly  of  a  black  color,  but  for  a  short  time  during  the  breed- 
ing season  exhibits  a  sprinkling  of  lougish  white,  almost  bristly  feathers  on 
the  head  and  back  of  the  neck;  and  the  green  cormorant,  which  is  of  smaller 
eize  and  of  a  prevailing  dark  green  color.  The  common  cormorant  is  about 
thirty-three  inches  long.  It  ia  a  very  widely  distributed  species.  It  waa 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  129 

formerly  sometimes  tamed  in  England,  to  be  employed  in  catching  fish,  and 
IB  still  trained  to  this  use  in  China. 

The  Bird  of  Paradise. — This  is  the  common  name  of  a  family  of 
birds,  Paradiseidce  of  ornithologists,  found  chiefly  in  New  Guinea  and  neigh- 
boring islands,  and  remarkable  for  splendor  of  plumage.  In  all  other  re- 
spects, however,  they  are  very  closely  allied  to  the  crow  family.  The  males 
alone  are  birds  of  splendid  plumage,  that  of  the  females  possessing  neither 


THE  BEBD  OF  PAEADISE. 

brilliancy  of  colors  nor  remarkable  development.  The  plumage  of  the 
males  is  not  only  characterized  by  great  brightness  of  tints,  but  by  a  glossy, 
velvety  appearance,  a  metallic  lustre,  and  a  singularly  beautiful  play  ol 
colors.  Tufts  of  feathers  generally  grow  from  the  shoulders,  and  these,  in 
some  of  the  kinds,  are  prolonged  so  as  to  cover  the  wings;  in  the  species 
sometimes  called  the  common  Bird  of  Paradise,  and  sometimes  the  Great 
Emerald  Bird  of  Paradise,  the  prolongation  of  these  shoulder  tufts  ia  so 
great,  thai  they  extend  far  beyond  the  body,  and  even  far  beyond  the  tail. 
Thev  constitute  the  most  magnificent  part  of  the  well-known  Bir4  of  Para- 


130       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

di*«  plumes.  They  are  exquisitely  light  and  delicate.  These  birds  are,  in 
general,  more  or  less  gregarious.  They  sometimes  pass  in  flock*  from  one 
island  to  another,  according  to  the  change  of  seasons,  from  the  dry  to  the 
wet  monsoon.  Owing  to  their  plumage,  they  fly  more  easily  against  than 
with  the  wind,  and  by  high  winds  they  are  sometimes  thrown  to  the  ground. 
Their  food  consists  in  great  part  of  the  fruit  of  the  teak  tree,  and  of  different 
•pecies  of  fig,  and  also  of  the  large  butterflies  which  abound  in  their  native 
islands.  The  Papuans  kill  them  by  shooting  them  with  arrows,  and  employ 
various  other  means  of  taking  them  for  the  sake  of  their  skins.  The  com- 
mon Bird  of  Paradise  is  as  large  as  a  jay.  It  is  of  a  cinnamon  color,  the 
upper  part  of  the  head  and  neck  yellow,  the  front  and  throat  emerald  green, 

the  shoulder-tufts  yellow.  The 
whole  length  of  the  extremity 
of  these  is  not  less  than  two 
feet. 

The  Falcon.— This  fa- 
mous bird  of  prey  is  charac- 
terized by  a  bill  curved  from 
the  base,  the  upper  mandible 
hooked  at  the  point,  and  the 
cutting  edge  of  the  upper  man- 
dible furnished  with  a  strong 
projecting  notch,  or  tooth.  The 
claws  are  also  sharp,  curved, 
and  strong;  and  in  accordance 
with  all  this  powerful  arma- 
ture, the  whole  frame  is  very 
robust  and  muscular.  The 
legs  are  rather  short,  and 
have  great  power  in  striking 
or  seizing  prey.  The  keel  of 
the  sternum  (breastbone)  is 
very  large,  and  adapted  for 
the  attachment  of  powerful 
muscles;  the  furcula  and  cora- 
coid  bonea  are  also  very  strong,  so  as  to  afford  a  sufficient  resisting  base  for 
very  powerful  action  of  the  wings.  The  wings  are  long  and  pointed,  the  first 
and  third  quill-feathers  of  equal  length,  the  second  rather  the  longest,  the 
first  and  second  emarginated  near  the  tip.  The  true  falcons  are  bolder  in 
proportion  to  then:  size  than  any  other  Falconidce — even  eagles.  Their  acute- 
ness  of  vision  is  wonderful,  and  they  have  very  great  powers  of  flight.  A 
falcon  is  known  to  have  traversed  the  distance  between  Fontainbleau  and 
Malta,  not  less  than  1,350  miles,  iu  twenty-four  hours.  The  speed  obtained 
by  a  falcon  in  pursuit  of  its  prey  has  been  calculated  to  be  at  the  rate  of  150 
miles  an  hour.  They  soar  to  a  prodigious  height  in  the  air,  always  endeav- 
oring to  outsoar  any  bird  of  which  they  may  be  in  pursuit,  and  to  swoop 
down  upon  it  from  above;  although  it  is  far  more  difficult  for  them  to  rise 
vertically  hi  a  calm  atmosphere  than  for  birds  of  short  and  rounded  wing, 
and  they  either  rise  obliquely — often  also  making  their  onward  flight  in  a 
series  of  arcs — or  avail  themselves  of  the  wind,  and  by  flying  against  it,  are 
borne  aloft  as  a  boy's  kite  is.  The  species  are  numerous;  some  of  them  are 
of  very  wide  distribution,  while  others  are  peculiar  to  certain  countries. 


THE  FAIXX>N. 


JTATVEAL    HISTORY. 


131 


The  Tailor-Bird. — This  is  a  genus  of  birds  of  the  family  Sylviadce, 
with  a  long,  graduated  tail,  the  feathers  of  which  are  narrow.  The  species 
are  numerous,  natives  of  the  East  Indies  and  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  and 
haunt  cultivated  grounds,  where  they  are  commonly  seen  in  pairs.  Their 
flight  is  rapid  and  undulating,  and  they  seldom  ascend  above  the  lower 
branches  of  trees.  The  name  tailor-bird  is  derived  from  the  way  in  which 
the  nest  is  formed.  Two  leaves  are  taken  at  the  extremity  of  a  twig,  and 
arc  sewed  together  by  their  edges,  or  a  large  leaf  is  sewed  together;  the 


THE  TAILOE-BIBD. 

necessary  holes  being  made  by  the  bill,  and  vegetable  fibers  forming  the 
thread.  Within  the  hollow  thus  made,  a  quantity  of  a  cottony  substance  if 
placed  to  receive  the  eggs. 

The  Thrush. — The  song  thrush,  or  throstle,  the  mavis  of  the  Scotch,  it 
smaller  than  the  black-bird,  its  whole  length  being  not  quite  nine  inches. 
Its  plumage  is  brown,  of  various  finely-mingled  shades;  the  throat,  sides  o/ 
the  neck,  breast,  and  flanks  yellowish,  spotted  with  dark  brown;  the  bellj 
nearly  white,  with  a  few  spots  of  dark  brown;  a  dark  brown  streak,  with  a 
lighter  brown  streak  over  it,  passing  from  the  bill  to  the  eye.  It  is  found  in 
all  parts  of  Europe,  but  deserts  some  of  the  northern  parts  in  winter,  being 
thus  partially  a  bird  of  passage.  It  feeds  on  insecta,  worms,  slugs,  snails, 


132       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

berries,  and  seeds.  It  often  makes  its  nest  in  the  center  of  a  thick  bush  or 
shrub,  and  sometimes  in  an  open  shed.  The  eggs  are  usually  four  or  five 
in  number.  The  male  takes  part  in  the  work  of  incubation,  and  is  very  at- 
tentive in  feeding  his  mate  while  so  occupied.  The  throstle  is  well  known 
as  one  of  the  sweetest  songsters  of  the  groves.  In  captivity,  it  has  been 
taught  simple  airs. 

The  Wheatear. — The  wheatear  or  fallow-chat  is  a  bird  of  the  genus 
popularly  known  by  the  name  chat,  of  the  family  Syloiadce,  a  common  sum- 


THE  WHEATEAB. 

mer  visitant  of  Great  Britain,  abounding  on  downs  and  fallow  fields.  Its 
geographic  range  is  wide.  Its  winter  retreat  is  in  the  countries  near  the 
Mediterranean,  and  chiefly  in  Africa;  its  summer  migrations  extend  to  the 
farthest  north  of  Europe,  and  to  Iceland  and  Greenland.  The  entire  length 
of  the  wheatear  is  about  six  inches  and  a  half;  the  tail  is  almost  square;  the 
wings  are  long  and  pointed;  and  the  legs  are  long,  enabling  the  bird  to  hop 
about  actively  in  quest  of  food.  Its  food  consists  of  worms  and  insects,  and 
it  may  often  be  seen  perched  on  the  top  of  a  clod  or  stone,  looking  out  for 
them,  and  at  the  same  time  on  the  watch  against  enemies.  The  male  is  of 
an  ash-brown  color  on  the  upper  parts;  the  forehead,  a  band  above  the  eyes, 
ami  the  throat,  white;  a  black  mark  extending  from  the  base  of  the  bill  to 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


133 


tmeh  eye,  and  expanding  behind  it,  so  as  to  cover  the  orifice  of  the  ear;  th« 
wings,  black;  the  rump,  and  two  thirds  of  the  tail,  except  the  two  middle 
feathers,  white;  the  tip  of  the 
tail,  black;  the  two  middle  feath- 
ers of  the  tail,  entirely  black;  the 
breast,  buff-color;  the  belly  and 
flanks,  pale  buffy  white.  The  fe- 
male is  less  gaily  colored,  brown 
and  gray  prevailing.  The  wheat- 
ear  makes  its  nest  in  an  old  wall, 
or  in  a  crevice  of  a  quarry  or 
gravel-pit,  often  in  a  deserted 
rabbit-burrow,  and  generally  lays 
six  pale-blue  eggs. 


THE  AMERICAN  BLUEJAY. 


The  American  Blue  jay. 
— This  beautiful  bird  is  common 
to  nearly  all  sections  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico to  Canada.  It  is  an  inhabitant 
of  forests  and  wooded  districts, 
and  feeds  principally  upon  seeds 
and  fruits.  The  head  is  furnished 
with  a  crest  of  erectile  feathers; 
the  tail  is  long  and  rounded.  The 
general  color  of  the  upper  parts 
is  bright  purplish-blue;  the  wings 
and  tail  white,  barred  with  black; 
the  neck  surrounded  with  a 
curved  black  collar.  They  build 
in  thick  trees  or  bushes,  and  their  nest  is  a  basket-like  structure  of  small 
sticks,  lined  with  fine  roots  and  grasses;  the  eggs,  five  or  six  in  number,  are 
yellowish- white,  minutely  and  thickly  speckled  with  light  brown.  The  char- 
acter of  the  bird  is  omniv- 
orous, and  it  often  robs 
the  nests  of  other  birds. 

The  Skylark.— The 

skylark  is  one  of  the  best 
known  British  birds,  and 
notwithstanding  the  tame- 
ness  of  its  brown  plumage, 
is  a  universal  favorite,  on 
account  of  the  sweetness 
of  its  cheerful  song,  which 
it  pours  forth  while  soar- 
ing and  floating  in  the  air. 
It  more  rarely  sings  on 
the  ground.  It  is  in  great  repute  as  a  cage-bird,  and  sings  well  in  confine- 
ment, but  flutters  its  wings  while  singing,  as  if  still  desirous  of  soaring  in 
the  air.  It  abounds  chiefly  in  open  biit  cultivated  districts.  It  is  common 
in  most  parts  of  Europe,  but  from  the  more  northern  parts  it  migrates  south' 
ward  on  the  approach  of  winter.  It  is  also  a  native  of  Asia. 


TiLfci  RKYTjARK. 


184       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USSFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Belted  Kingfisher.— Many  species  of  the  kingfisher  family  are 

found  in  various  parts  of  the  world. 
The  belted  kingfisher  is  peculiar 
to  North  America,  and  is  a  larger 
bird  than  the  kingfisher  of  Great 
Britain,  being  fully  twelve  inches 
in  length,  but  inferior  in  brilliancy 
of  plumage.  It  is  common  upon 
most  of  our  rivers  during  the  warm 
season,  but  migrates  southward  in 
winter,  and  is  then  to  be  found  in 
the  West  Indies.  Its  food  consists 
of  small  fishes,  such  as  minnows, 
sticklebacks,  and  trout  or  salmon 
fry,  and  of  leeches  and  water  in- 
sects. When  it  has  caught  a  fish, 
it  often  kills  it  by  beating  it  on  a 
branch,  and  always  swallows  it 
head  foremost. 

The  Starling.  -The  common 
starling  of  the  old  world  is  a  beau- 
tiful bird,  rather  smaller  than  the 
song-thrush  or  mavis,  brown,  finely 
glossed  with  black,  with  a  pale  tip 
to  each  feather,  giving  the  bird  a 
fine  speckled  appearance,  particu- 
larly on  the  breast  and  shoulders. 
Starlings  make  artless  nests  of 
Blender  twigs,  roots  and  dry  grass,  in  hollow  trees,  in  holes  of  cliffe,  under 
eaves  of  houses,  or, 
readily  enough,  in 
boxes,  which  are  often 
placed  for  them  in 
trees  or  else  where  near 
houses.  They  fre- 
quently breed  twice  in 
a  season,  and  in  au- 
tumn they  unite  in 
large  flocks.  The  star- 
ling becomes  very  fa- 
miliar in  confinement, 
and  displays  great  imi- 
tative powers.  Its  song 
is  soft  and  sweet.  The 
American  starling  or 
meadow  lark  is  larger 
than  the  common  star- 
ling. It  is  common  in 
the  United  States,  mi- 
grating northwards  in 
.Spring,  and  south- 

autunuu  and  congregating  in  great  flocks  in  autumn  and  winter. 


THE  BELTED  KINGFISIIEE. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  135 

The  Bobolink. — This  beautiful  bird  generally  makes  its  nest  in  a 
grassy  meadow,  an  artless  structure  of  a  few  dry  stalks  and  leaves,  with  a 
lining  of  finer  grass.  It  displays  the  same  instinct  with  many  other  birds, 
of  seeking  to  lead  intruders  away  from  its  nest,  by  pretending  great  anxiety 
about  some  other  part  of  the  field.  During  the  breeding  season,  the  malei 
are  very  musical,  singing  mostly  in  the  air,  in  which  they  seem  to  rise  and 
fall  in  successive  jerks.  Their  song  is  very  pleasing,  and  is  emitted  with  a 
volubility  bordering  on  the  burlesque.  On  account  of  their  beauty  and 
powers  of  song,  many  are  caught,  caged,  and  sold  in  New  York  and  oth«r 
markets. 

The  Titlark. — This  bird  is  familiarly  known  in  many  parts  of  England 
and  of  Scotland  as  the  M</ss-cheeper.  It  is  found  in  almost  all  parts  of 
Europe,  and  the  north  of  Asia,  in  Western  India,  in  Japan,  and  in  Iceland. 
It  is  a  small  bird,  its  color  brown  of  various  shades.  It  frequents  heaths, 
mosses,  and  pastures;  and  usually  makes  its  nest  on  a  grassy  bank,  or 


THE  TITLARK. 

beside  a  tuft  of  grass  or  heath.  Its  song  is  weak  and  plaintive,  and  it  gen- 
erally sings  in  the  air.  It  is  gregarious  in  winter.  The  cuckoo  is  said  to 
deposit  its  egg  more  frequently  in  the  nest  of  the  titlark  than  in  that  of  any 
other  British  bird.  A  rather  larger  British  species  is  the  tree  pipit  or  field 
titling,  which  has  a  shorter  claw,  and  perches  on  trees,  frequenting  enclosed 
and  wooded  districts,  it  is  a  summer  visitant  of  Britain,  and  most  common 
in  the  south  of  England.  It  occurs  in  most  parts  of  Europe,  in  Asia  and  the 
north  of  Africa. 

Butterflies. — If,  having  never  seen  nor  heard  of  a  butterfly,  one  were 
to  meet  our  gaze  as  on  winnowing  wings  it  danced  through  the  summer  air, 
from  flower  to  flower,  should  we  conceive  it  possible  that  it  had  ever  been  a 
crawling  and  voracious  worm,  and  then  a  torpid  being  enveloped  like  a 
mummy  hi  a  ease,  whence  it  sprung  forth  in  newness  of  life,  light  winged, 
and  graceful  in  every  movement,  and  arrayed  with  beauty  ?  Although  we 
know  this  to  be  the  fact,  when  we  look  at  the  sluggish,  leaf-eating  cater- 


136      CYCLOPEDIA    Of    VStifVl    KNOWLEDGE. 

pillar,  and  contrast  it  with  what  it  will  be,  when  on  broad  wings  it  traverses 
garden  and  meadow,  extracting  from  the  flowers  their  nectar  for  food,  we 
feel  involuntary  emotions  of  wonder,  so  striking  is  the  contrast. 

On  its  exclusion  from  the  egg  the  caterpillar  is  of  very  small  size;  its 
growth,  however,  soon  commences,  and  is  as  rapid  as  its  appetite  is  vora- 
cious. As,  however,  it  is  clothed  in  an  outer  skin  which  is  not  extensible, 
this  investment,  like  the  armor  of  the  lobster,  must  be  repeatedly  changed. 
Beneath  the  old  outer  skin,  or  epidermis,  which  soon  begins  to  be  loosened, 


BTTTTEBFIJES. 

a  new  one  is  formed;  a  rent  takes  the  place  from  the  swelling  out  of  the 
animal,  down  the  back  of  the  old  skin,  and  this  rent  gradually  increases, 
till  the  animal  with  a  brighter  epidermis,  frees  itself  from  its  discarded 
weeds  and  appears  of  larger  dimensions.  During  this  process,  which  is 
often  repeated,  the  caterpillar  is  sluggish  and  inactive,  and  refuses  food; 
but  when  the  process  is  over,  it  recovers  its  former  voracity.  During  all 
this  time  the  caterpillar  is  laying  up  an  accumulation  of  fat  to  serve  the 
wants  of  the  system  during  the  time  of  its  torpid  pupa  state,  which  it  is  now 
preparing  for.  Beneath  the  la*t  cuticle  assumed,  the  vital  energies  of  the 


NATURAL    HIS  TOUT.  137 

System  have  developed  wings,  antenna,  a  slender  proboscis,  and  all  the 
parts  of  the  perfect  butterfly,  or  moth,  that  is  to  be.  This  last  cuticle  or 
epidermis  is,  however,  yet  to  be  cast  off,  and  another  is  formed  to  clothe 
the  pupa,  which  in  its  turn  is  to  be  broken  open  for  the  exit  of  the  perfect 
insect.  Previously,  however,  to  the  pupa  stage  being  assumed,  it  secures 
itself  by  means  of  its  silk  in  a  position  varying  according  to  the  species. 
Suppose  it  merely  suspends  itself  by  the  tail;  in  this  case  the  first  care  of 
the  caterpillar  is  to  cover  the  spot  to  which  it  is  about  to  suspend  itself  with 
successive  layers  of  silken  threads,  which  readily  adhere,  till  at  last  a  little 
silken  cone  is  produced,  into  which  the  caterpillar  pushes  its  hinder  pair  of 
prolegs  (those  on  the  last  segment),  which  become  entangled,  and  so  fixed, 
amid  the  threads;  it  then  permits  itself  to  hang  down  with  the  head  lowest. 
In  a  short  time  it  begins  to  bend  its  back,  bringing  the  head  near  the 
attached  feet;  and,  after  continuing  for  some  time  in  this  attitude,  it 
straightens  itself,  and  repeats  the  same  action.  In  about  twenty-four  hours 
the  outer  skin  begins  to  split  down  the  back,  and  the  fissure  is  enlarged  by 
the  swelling  of  the  chrysalis  till  at  length  the  head  and  lower  portion  of  the 
suspended  being  become  disengaged,  the  skin  shrivelling  up  into  a  bundle 
surrounding  the  tail.  This,  however,  has  to  be  thrown  off,  and  at  the  samo 
time  the  chrysalis  has  to  avoid  disengaging  itself  from  its  mooring  of  silken 
threads  from  which  it  hangs;  for,  be  it  remembered,  it  was  by  its  hind  legs 
that  it  attached  itself. 

To  effect  this,  instinct  guided,  it  seizes  on  a  portion  of  this  shrivelled 
skin  between  two  segments  of  its  body,  holding  it  as  with  a  pair  of  pincers, 
and  thus  destitute  of  limbs,  supports  itself,  till  it  withdraws  the  tail  from 
the  old  useless  skin  which  sheathed  it;  then,  still  clinging,  elongates  the 
rings  of  its  tail  as  much  as  possible,  and  seizes  a  higher  portion  of  the  skin, 
and  in  this  manner,  climbing  backward  as  it  were  upon  its  exuviae,  it  repeats 
the  manoeuvre  till  the  extremity  of  the  tail  presses  the  silk,  to  which  it 
immediately  adheres  by  means  of  a  number  of  hooks  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose. Still  these  exuvice  encumber  it  and  hang  in  contact  with  it;  curving 
its  tail  in  such  a  manner  as  partly  to  embrace  the  shrivelled  skin,  it  whirls 
rapidly  round,  jerking  violently,  and  at  length  succeeds  in  disengaging  it 
from  its  fastenings  and  throwing  it  to  the  ground.  In  a  short  time  the 
chrysalis  hardens,  and  shows  through  the  outer  case  the  wings,  antennce, 
eyes,  and  legs  of  the  perfect  insect.  It  now  passes  into  a  sort  of  torpid 
state,  till  the  time  arrives  for  the  exit  of  the  perfect  butterfly  from  its  case. 
The  butterfly,  when  ready  for  exclusion,  bursts  the  skin  of  the  chrysalis, 
now  to  be  thrown  off,  which  cover  the  thorax,  and  emerges,  feeble  and 
languid,  with  wings  crumpled  up  into  small  bundles.  Soon,  however,  the 
body  acquires  strength;  the  fluids  circulate  through  the  nerves  of  the  wings; 
these  gradually  unfold,  and  the  creature  quivers  them,  as  it  feels  its  growing 
powers;  at  length,  in  the  perfection  of  strength  and  beauty,  it  leaves  its 
sordid  mummy-case  behind,  sores  aloft,  seeks  the  flowers  of  the  garden, 
and  commences  a  new  existence. 

The  rest  of  the  story  is  soon  told;  bright  things  must  fade;  the  butterfly 
enjoys  a  brief  summer,  deposits  its  eggs  on  the  plants  which  instinct  teachea 
it  are  the  appropriate  nourishment  of  the  future  caterpillar,  and  passes  out 
of  existence. 

The  Humble  Bee. — The  domicile  of  the  bumblebee  is  a  simple  exca- 
vatiom  in  some  bank,  a  little  chamber  of  about  six  or  eight  inches  in 
diameter,  to  which  leads  a  long  winding  passage,  capable  of  admitting  of 


138       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  ingress  and  egress  respectively  of  two  bees  at  the  same  time.  Somft 
species,  as  the  bombus  muscorum,  select  a  shallow  excavation  which  they 
dome  over  with  a  felt  of  moss  or  withered  grass,  lined  with  a  coat  of  wax  to 
render  it  waterproof;  but  the  bombus  terrestris  makes  or  enlarges  a  subter- 
ranean vault,  a  foot  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  in  this  is  the 
colony  established.  The  population,  however,  is  not  numerous,  seldom 
exceeding  one  or  two  hundred,  and  may  be  divided  into  females,  males  and 
workers.  The  females  are  of  two  sorts,  very  large  and  small.  The  large 
females,  or  queens,  look  like  giants  compared  to  the  smaller  females  and 
workers;  they  produce  males,  females  and  workers,  but  the  small  females 
.'produce  only  small  eggs.  The  large  females,  then,  we  may  regard  as  the 
founders  of  every  colony;  and  by  following  up  the  details  we  shall  be  able 
to  render  the  plan  clearly  intelligible.  These  large  females,  in  an  estab- 
lished colony,  emerge  from  their  pupa  state  in  the  autumn,  and  pair  in  that 


NEST  OP  THE  COMMON  HUMBLE  BEE. 

season  -with  males,  the  produce  of  the  small  females  which  have  previously 
acquired  their  due  development.  Now  on  the  approach  of  winter  these 
large  females,  the  pairing  time  over,  retire  each  to  a  little  snug  apartment, 
lined  with  moss  or  grass,  and  separate  from  the  general  vault,  passing  the 
cold  season  in  a  state  of  torpidity.  Early  in  the  spring  they  awake,  issue 
forth,  and  take  different  directions,  seeking  for  some  convenient  spot  in 
which  to  begin  their  labors.  At  this  time  of  the  year  large  females  may  be 
often  observed  exploring  every  cavity,  hole  or  crevice  in  banks  or  on  the 
ground;  they  are  seeking  a  fit  site  for  their  operations.  We  will  now  sup- 
pose one  of  these  queens  to  have  formed  and  established  herself  in  her 
chamber;  she  begins  to  collect  honey  and  pollen,  and  constructs  cells  in 
which  her  eggs  are  to  be  deposited.  So  rapidly  are  the  latter  built,  that  to 
make  a  cell,  fill  it  with  honey  and  pollen  (the  food  of  the  young),  commit 
one  or  two  eggs  to  it,  and  cover  them  in,  requires  little  more  than  half  an 
hour.  Her  first  and  most  numerous  brood  consists  only  of  workers,  which, 


NATUllAL    111  STORY.  139 

as  Boon  as  excluded  from  the  pupa,  assist  their  parent  in  all  her  labors.  Her 
next  consists  of  large  and  small  females  and  males;  these  appear  in  August 
or  September;  but,  if  Huber  be  correct,  the  male  eggs,  or  some  of  them  at 
least,  are  laid  in  the  spring  with  those  that  have  to  produce  workers.  We 
have  now,  then,  small  and  large  females,  males  and  workers,  the  produce 
of  the  original  queen  who  singly  began  to  found  this  establishment.  It  will 
be  interesting  to  look  a  little  closer  into  their  transactions;  and,  first,  those 
of  the  workers.  These  are  by  far  the  most  numerous  tenants  of  the  colony, 
and  to  them  is  intrusted  the  reparation  of  any  part  by  the  deposition  of 
wax,  and  the  spreading  of  it  in  patches  over  the  roof.  When  in  any  of  the 
cells  one  of  the  larvae  has  spun  its  cocoon  and  assumed  the  pupa  state,  it  is 
their  department  to  remove  all  the  wax  away  from  it;  and  after  the  pupa 
has  attained  its  perfect  state,  which  takes  place  in  about  five  days,  to  cut 
open  the  cocoon,  in  order  that  the  perfect  insect  may  emerge  from  its  im- 
prisonment; it  is  theirs,  moreover,  to  supply  the  young  grubs  with  food 
after  they  have  consumed  the  stock  deposited  with  each  egg  in  the  cell,  and 
regularly  feed  them  either  with  honey  or  pollen  introduced  in  their  pro- 
boscis through  a  small  hole  in  the  cover  of  each  cell,  opened  as  occasion 
may  require,  and  carefully  covered  up  again.  As  the  grubs  increase  in  size 
the  colls  which  contained  them  respectively  become  too  small,  and  by  their 
struggles  the  thin  slides  split;  the  breaches  thus  produced  they  repair  with 
wax  as  fast  as  they  occur,  attentive  to  see  where  their  services  are  required; 
and  it  is  in  this  manner  that  the  cells  gradually  acquire  an  increase  of  size 
to  accommodate  the  increasing  larvse.  Besides  these  duties,  in  chilly 
weather  and  at  night  the  workers  brood  over  the  pupa  shrouded  in  their 
cocoons,  in  order  to  impart  the  necessary  warmth  and  maintain  a  due  degree 
of  temperature.  They  relieve  the  mother  queen,  in  fact  of  half  her  carea 
and  nearly  all  her  labor.  In  some  nests  there  are  from  forty  to  sixty  honey 
pots,  the  cocoons  of  the  bees  recently  emerged  from  their  pupa  condition, 
and  more  than  half  of  these  are  often  filled  in  a  single  day. 

The  workers  have  plenty  of  business  on  their  hands  and  are  busy  all 
summer  long.  But  tne  winter  comes  and  they  all  perish;  they  have  fulfilled 
their  allotted  part,  and  their  services  are  no  more  needed.  From  the 
workers  let  us  pass  to  the  mother  queen,  and  inquire  into  her  duties  and 
actions.  The  workers  are  her  first  progeny,  and  we  must  suppose  her  sur- 
rounded by  them.  They  are  watching  all  her  movements,  for  she  is  about 
to  deposit  in  the  cells  the  eggs  from  which  the  second  brood  is  to  spring; 
and,  by  a  strange  instinct,  they  endeavor  to  seize  the  eggs  as  soon  as  laid, 
and  devour  them.  It  is  not  easy  to  understand  the  object  to  be  accomplished 
by  this  procedure  on  the  part  of  the  workers,  unless  it  be  to  keep  the  popu- 
lation within  due  bounds.  Be  this  as  it  may  the  female  has  to  exert  herself 
to  the  utmost  to  prevent  her  eggs  from  being  all  devoured.  When  she  has 
deposited  her  eggs  in  the  cells  and  closed  them  up  with  wax,  she  has  still 
to  keep  very  close  watch  over  them  for  six  or  eight  hours,  otherwise  the 
workers  would  immediately  open  the  cells  and  devour  their  contents.  After 
this  period,  strange  to  say,  the  nature  of  the  workers  seems  changed;  th«y 
no  longer  evince  any  appetite  for  devouring  the  eggs  or  destroying  the  cells. 
From  these  eggs  proceed  a  few  large  females,  to  be  at  a  future  day  the 
founders  of  colonies;  a  few  males,  and  small  females,  closely  resembling  the 
workers,  but  attended  by  the  females  which  form  their  court.  These  small 
females  now  begin  to  prepare  cells  for  their  eggs,  which  rouses  the  anger 
and  jealousy  of  the  mother  queen  to  the  highest  pitch.  She  assaults  them 
with  fury,  driving  them  away;  puts  her  head  into  the  cells,  and  devour* 


140       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE, 

their  eggs,  and  is  in  turn  herself  assaulted  and  forced  to  retreat.  They  then 
contend  among  themselves  for  various  cells,  several  females  often  endeavor- 
ing to  lay  their  eggs  at  the  same  time  in  the  same  cell,  but  after  a  short 
period  tranquility  seems  restored.  These  small  females  all  perish  on  the 
commencement  of  winter.  Their  produce  consists  only  of  males,  which  pair 
with  the  large  females  in  the  autumn,  the  latter  retiring  to  their  hybernacu- 
lum  and  sleeping  till  spring.  The  males  are  rather  larger  than  the  small 
females  whence  they  spring,  and  their  antennae  are  longer  and  more  slender. 
They  are  not  an  idle  race,  for  Beaumur  asserts  that  they  work  in  concert 
with  the  rest  to  repair  any  damage  that  may  befall  their  common  habitation. 
They  act  in  some  sort  as  scavengers  of  the  settlement,  removing  every  sort 
of  rubbish,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  such  individuals  as  may  chance  to  die, 
but  do  not  forage  for  building  materials  and  provisions,  nor  do  they  take 
any  share  in  rearing  and  attending  to  the  young.  Such,  then,  is  an  outline 
of  the  proceedings  which  occur  in  every  colony  of  humble  bees,  all  of 
which,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  large  females  destined  to  continue  the 
race,  perish  at  the  close  of  autumn. 

Spiders — There  are  several  species  of  spiders,  divided  into  two  classes, 
the  sedentary  and  the  wandering  spiders.  To  the  first  class  belong  the  orb- 
weavers,  who  make  a  circular  web;  the  line  weavers,  whose  web  is  labyrin- 
thian;  the  tube  weavers,  who  hang  their  nests  on  walls  or  rocks  or  branches 
of  trees;  and  the  tunnel-weavers,  who  live  in  tunnels  cut  into  the  earth,  and 
having  automatic  doors  ingeniously  contrived. 

Spiders  are  not  sociable  creatures;  they  are  generally,  on  the  contrary, 
of  solitary  habits,  and  are  mostly  cannibals,  eating  each  other  with  great 
gusto.  They  mate  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  and  the  mating  is  often  a  very 
trying  and  dangerous  time.  They  reverse  the  order  of  nature  in  one  re- 
spect, for  the  males  are  infinitely  inferior  in  every  respect  to  the  females, 
and  the  latter  are  well  aware  of  the  fact.  Their  courtships  are  scenes  of 
violence,  and  not  of  love  and  peace.  The  lady  looks  with  sublime  contempt 
upon  the  gentleman,  and  keeps  him  at  a  distance.  He  can  only  approach 
her  by  stratagem,  and  sometimes  she  nips  off  one  of  his  legs  in  her  anger, 
and  casts  him  adrift  a  cripple.  A  spider  will  never  eat  her  own  young,  but 
the  males  will  destroy  them  when  they  can.  The  mother  either  goes  away 
or  dies  soon  after  the  hatching  of  her  eggs,  which  number  about  one  hun- 
dred to  each  nest,  and  the  little  ones  are  thrown  upon  the  world  almost  as 
soon  as  they  see  light.  There  are  several  varieties,  however,  who  carry 
their  eggs  in  a  silk  pouch  until  they  are  hatched. 

Spiders  have  numerous  enemies,  and  much  of  their  clever  nest-building 
is  designed  for  protection  against  these  inroads.  Toads  and  birds  destroy 
them  by  the  thousand,  and  a  little  parasite  called  the  ichneumon^- a  small 
fly — lays  its  eggs  in  the  cocoons  of  the  spider,  and  when  the  larvae  appears 
it  feeds  first  on  the  spider's  eggs,  and  later  on  the  young  spiders.  Orb- 
weavers  and  line-weavers  desert  their  eggs  when  laid,  and  meet  their  off- 
spring, where  they  live  so  long,  as  strangers.  Another  "bitter  enemy  of  the 
spider  is  the  mud-daubing  wasp,  who  has  a  process  that  might  be  valuable 
to  humanity,  if  it  could  be  discovered,  of  keeping  a  supply  of  fresh  meat. 
When  they  capture  a  spider  that  is  not  needed  for  present  use,  they  sting  it 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  lives,  but  has  no  power  to  move  until  such  time  as 
the  captor  is  ready  to  devour  it. 

If  you  anchor  a  pole  in  a  body  of  water,  leaving  the  pole  above  the  sxir- 
face,  and  put  a  spider  upon  it,  he  will  exhibit  marvelous  intelligence  by  bis 


NATURAL    HISTORY. 


141 


plans  to  escape.  At  first  he  will  spin  a  web  several  inches  long,  and  hang 
to  one  end  while  he  allows  the  other  to  float  off  in  the  wind,  in  the  hope  that 
it  will  strike  some  object.  Of  course  this  plan  proves  a  failure,  but  the 
spider  is  not  discouraged.  He  waits  until  the  wind  changes,  and  then  sends 
another  silken  bridge  floating  off  in  another  direction.  Another  failure  is 
followed  by  several  other  similar  attempts,  until  all  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass have  been  tried.  But  neither  the  resources  nor  reasoning  powers  ol 
the  spider  are  exhausted.  He  climbs  to  the  top  of  the  pole  and  energeti- 
cally goes  to  work  to  construct  a  silken  balloon.  He  has  no  hot  air  with 
which  to  inflate  it,  but  he  has  the  power  of  making  it  buoyant.  When  he 
gets  his  balloon  finished  he  does  not  go  off  upon  the  mere  supposition  that  it 
will  carry  him,  as  men  often  do,  but  he  fastens  it  to  a  guyrope,  the  other  end 
of  which  he  attaches  to  the  island  pole,  upon  which  he  is  a  prisoner.  He  then 


A  SPIDEK'S  WEB. 

gets  into  his  aerial  vehicle,  while  it  is  made  fast,  and  tests  it  to  see  whether 
its  dimensions  are  capable  of  bearing  him  away.  He  often  finds  that  he  has 
made  it  too  small,  in  which  case  he  hauls  it  down,  takes  it  all  apart  and 
constructs  it  on  a  larger  and  better  plan.  A  spider  has  been  seen  to  make 
three  different  balloons  before  he  became  satisfied  with  his  experiment. 
Then  he  will  get  in,  snap  the  guyrope  and  sail  away,  to  land  as  gracefully 
and  as  supremely  independent  of  his  surroundings  as  could  be  well 
imagined. 

The  Wasp. — Wasps  differ  very  widely  in  their  habits,  some  being  soli» 
tary,  others  social.  Some  of  the  solitary  wasps  make  curious  burrows  ia 
eand,  or  construct  tubes  of  earthy  paste  on  the  sides  of  walls,  in  which  they 
form  cells  for  their  eggs,  at  the  same  time  placing  there  a  etore  of  food  fo; 


142       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  larvae,  some  of  them  using  for  this  purpose  perfect  insects.  Others  make 
little  earthen  cells  on  the  stems  of  plants,  and  store  in  them  a  little  honey 
for  their  young.  The  social  wasps  have  various  modes  of  constructing  their 
nests,  which  are  sometimes  formed  in  excavations  in  the  ground,  sometimes 
attached  to  walls,  houghs  of  trees,  etc.,  and  formed  of  a  paper-like  substance, 
produced  by  mixing  into  a  pulp,  with  their  saliva,  small  particles  of  woody 
fibre.  The  combs  are  made  of  a  substance  similar  to  the  outer  covering  of 
the  nest,  but  generally  thicker  and  firmer.  As  the  nest  is  enlarged,  new 
paper  is  made  for  the  purpose,  the  whole  nest  being  enclosed  in  the  last- 
made  envelope,  and  the  inner  ones,  which  sufficed  for  its  former  size,  are 
removed  to  give  place  to  combs. 

The  Water  Spider. — The  Arggroneta  aquatic  is  a  plain,  dark-brown 
spider,  densely  hairy.  It  dives  from  a  leaf  on  the  surface,  and,  as  it  plunges 


THE  WATER  SPIDEB. 

in,  a  bubble  of  air  surrounds  it  attached  to  its  hairy  body.  Arrived  at  a  de- 
sirable location  in  the  midst  of  a  matted  mass  of  water  plants,  it  sets  the 
bubble  free  by  means  of  its  feet  in  such  a  manner  that  it  shall  lodge  amid 
the  vegetation.  It  repeats  the  journey  until  finally  the  bubble  thus  pro- 
duced is  large  enough;  it  then  spins  around  its  upper  part  a  net  to  retain 
it,  and  anchors  this  net  to  the  neighboring  water  plants.  If  this  thimble- 
ehaped  diving-bell  does  not  contain  enough  air,  more  is  now  brought  down, 
until  finally  the  satisfied  creature  establishes  itself  within  its  aquatic 
domicile  to  look  out  for  passing  prey.  The  silvery  guard  of  the  spiders  aa 
they  descend,  and  the  beauty  of  their  delicate  abode,  must  be  seen  to  be 
and  they  form  delightful  additions  to  the  fresh,  water  acjuariu.ni, 


148 

White  Ants. — These  insects  live  in  societies,  each  of  which  consists  of 
a  countless  number  of  individuals,  the  large  majority  of  which  are  wingless. 
Two  individuals  only  in  each  society,  a  male  and  a  female,  or,  according  to 
some,  a  king  and  a  queen,  are  winged,  and  these  alone  in  the  entire  society 
are  specimens  of  the  perfect  insect.  The  king  and  queen  are  privileged  in- 
dividuals, surrounded  with  all  the  respect  and  consideration,  and  receiving 
all  the  attendance  and  honors,  due  to  sovereigns.  Exempted  from  all  par- 
ticipation in  the  common  industry  ot  the  society,  they  are  wholly  devoted  to 
increase  and  multiplication.  They  are  distinguished  from  the  inferior  mem- 
bers of  the  society  by  the  possession  of  organs  of  vision  in  the  form  of  large 
and  prominent  eyes,  their  subjects  being  all  of  them  blind. 

These  latter  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the  workers  and  the  soldiers. 
The  workers  are  by  far  the  most  numerous  members  of  the  society,  being 
about  a  hundred  times  greater  in  number  than  the  soldiers.  Their  bodies 
also  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  soldiers,  the  latter  being  again  smaller 
than  those  of  the  sovereigns.  The  entire  industrial  business  of  the  society 
is  performed  by  the  workers.  They  erect  the  common  habitation  and  keep 
it  in  repair.  They  forage  and  collect  provisions  for  the  society.  They  at- 
tend upon  the  sovereigns,  and  carry  away  the  eggs  of  the  queen,  as  fast  aa 
she  deposits  them,  to  chambers  which  they  previously  prepare  for  them. 
They  keep  these  chambers  in  order,  and  when  the  eggs  are  hatched  they 
perform  the  part  of  nursed  to  the  young,  feeding  them  and  waiting  upon 
them  until  they  have  attained  sufficient  growth  to  wait  upon  themselves. 
The  soldiers  are  distinguished  by  their  long  and  large  heads,  armed  with 
long  pointed  mandibles.  Their  duty,  as  their  title  implies,  is  confined  to 
the  defence  of  the  society  and  of  their  common  habitation  when  attacked  by 
enemies. 

A  visitor  to  the  tropics  unacquainted  with  the  architectural  skill  of  these 
small  builders  must  pause  in  wonderment  before  the  habitations  which  they 
erect.  The  insect  itself  is  scarcely  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  yet 
in  the  space  of  three  or  four  years  they  manage  to  build  a  home  for  them- 
selves that  is  twelve  feet  in  height. ,  These  wonderful  structures  are  shaped 
like  a  sugar-loaf  or  cone,  and  when  first  erected  consist  of  naked  clay,  but, 
in  the  fertile  climate  where  the  white  ant  lives,  the  seeds  of  herbage  trans- 
ported by  the  wind  are  soon  deposited  upon  them,  and  they  are  speedily 
covered  with  the  same  vegetation  as  the  surrounding  soil,  and  when  in  th  a 
dry  and  warm  season  this  vegetation  is  scorched  they  assume  the  appear- 
ance of  vast  hay-cocks.  The  interior  of  these  mounds  themselves  are  of 
most  curious  and  complicated  structure,  consisting  of  a  variety  of  chambers 
and  corridors  formed  with  the  most  consummate  art,  and  adapted  in  shape 
and  siae  to  the  respective  purposes  to  which  they  are  assigned  in  the  geuer?.! 
economy  of  the  colony. 

The  royal  chamber  appropriated  to  the  sovereigns  engrosses  much  of  the 
attention  and  skill  of  their  industrious  subjects.  It  is  generally  place! 
about  the  center  of  the  base  of  the  mound,  at  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
ground.  It  has  the  shape  that  architects  call  a  surmounted  dome,  and  its 
magnitude  is  proportioned  to  that  of  the  king  and  queen  to  whom  it  is 
appropriated.  Its  floor  is  perfectly  level,  and  formed  of  clay  about  an  inch 
thick.  The  roof  is  a  solid,  well-turned  arch,  increasing  in  thickness  from  fv 
quarter  of  an  inch  at  the  sides,  where  it  rests  upon  the  floor, 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS     AND     CUS- 
TOMS,   ETC. 


China  and  the  Chinese. — Among  the  higher  classes  in  China  the 
married  lady  rises  early,  and  first  sees  that  tea  is  prepared  for  her  husband, 
as  well  as  some  hot  water  for  his  morning  bath.  The  same  attention  is  also 
exacted  by  the  mother-in-law;  indeed,  during  the  life  of  the  latter,  the  wife  has 


CHINESE  LADIES. 

to  be  a  very  drudge  in  the  house.  In  the  morning  the  ladies  fly  about  dressed 
en  deshabille,  and  shout  out  their  orders  to  the  domestic  slaves.  In  short,  a 
general  uproar  prevails  in  many  Chinese  households,  until  everything  for 
the  elaborate  toilet  has  been  procured.  Each  lady  has  generally  one  or  two 
maids,  besides  a  slave  girl  who  waits  on  these  maids,  and  trims  her  mistress's 
pipe.  The  dressing  of  the  lady's  hair  occupies  her  attendants  from  one  to 
two  hours.  Then  a  white  paste  is  applied  to  her  face  and  neck,  a  rose  pow- 
der to  the  cheeks  and  eyelids,  and  a  red  dye  to  the  finger  nails;  and  finally 
the  lady  is  dressed  for  the  day.  Many  Chinese  ladies  spend  a  great  portion 
of  their  time  in  gossiping,  smoking,  and  gambling.  The  last  named,  it  is  to 
be  regretted,  is  the  most  favorite  pastime,  but  it  is  the  men  who  set  them 
the  example.  They  never  dream  of  playing  except  for  money;  and  when 
they  have  no  visitors  of  their  own  rank  to  gamble  with  they  call  in  the  do- 
mestics  and  play  with  them.  Numbers  of  ladies  pass  a  portion  of  their  tim? 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.          145 

in  embroidering  shoes,  purses,  handkerchiefs,  and  such  things;  while  beforo 
marriage  nearly  all  their  days  are  occupied  in  preparations  for  the  dreary 
event  of  wedding  one  whom  they  have  never  seen  and  for  whom  they  do  not 
care.  Some  women  occasionally  hire  educated  widows  in  needy  circum' 


A  CHINESE  BHIDE. 

etances  to  read  novels  or  plays  to  them.  Women  capable  of  reading  in  this 
way  can  make  a  comfortable  living,  as  there  are  so  very  few  of  the  female 
sex  who  can  read.  The  women  of  the  poorer  classes  have  no  education,  and 
can  be  considered  but  little  better  than  beasts  of  burden.  A  man  of  that 
rank  will  walk  deliberately  by  his  wife's  side,  while  she  tottera  under  a 
heavy  load;  and  frequently  may  she  be  seen  yoked  to  a  plow,  while  her 
husband  guides  it.  Those  of  the  lower  classes  who  are  good  looking,  ao- 


146       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE, 

cording  to  the  Chinese  ideas  of  beauty,  are  purchased  by  the  rich  at  about 
twelve  or  fourteen  years,  for  concubines,  and  are  then  instructed  according 
to  their  master's  ideas.  The  preliminaries,  formalities,  ceremonies  and 
superstitions  connected  with  marriage  in  China,  would,  if  given  in  full,  al- 
moit  fill  a  volume.  Previous  to  the  wedding  day  the  bride  has  her  eye- 
brows pulled  out,  so  that  ehe  is  recognized  ever  afterward  as  a  married 


A  CHINESE  BABY  IN    ITS  WINTER  CBADLE. 

woman.  On  the  morning  of  the  "  lucky  day  "  chosen  for  the  marriage,  she 
IB  earned  from  her  home  to  that  of  her  future  husband  in  a  beautiful  and 
highly  ornamented  bridal  chair.  The  religious  part  of  the  ceremony  consists 
in  the  bride  and  groom's  worshiping  together  the  spirit  tablets  of  the  ances- 
tors of  the  groom.  The  parties  first  see  each  other's  faces  when,  seated  by 
the  bridal  bed,  the  bride's  veil  is  removed,  and  the  two  parties  drink  wine 
out  of  the  same  cnp.  The  wedding  festivities  generally  last  at  least  two 
days.  The  first  day  the  male  friends  and  relatives  of  the  groom  are  invited 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.          147 

to  "  shed  their  light "  on  the  occasion.  On  the  second  day  the  female  friends 
and  relatives  of  the  family  of  the  groom  are  invited  to  the  wedding  feast. 
This  is  often  called  the  "  women's  day."  Not  long  after  the  family  and 
guests  have  breakfasted  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  the  newly  mar- 
ried couple,  amid  the  noise  of  fire-crackers,  then  come  out  of  their  room  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  again  worshiping  the  ancestral  tablets  belonging 
to  the  household,  the  grandparents  and  parents  of  the  groom.  This  custom 
is  known  by  the  name  of  "  coming  out  of  the  room."  Not  long  subsequent 
to  this  ceremony  the  people  proceed  to  the  kitchen  for  the  purpose  of  wor- 


BEATING  ON  A  TEMPLE  DKUM. 

shiping  the  god  and  goddess  of  the  kitchen.  This  is  performed  with  great 
decorum,  and  is  regarded  as  an  important  and  essential  part  of  marriage 
solemnities.  It  is  believed  that  thus  they  will  propitiate  their  good  will, 
and  especially  that  the  bride,  in  attempting  culinary  operations,  will  suc- 
ceed better  in  consequence  of  paying  early  and  respectful  attention  to  these 
divinities.  This  is  an  illustration  of  how  idolatry  is  inwrought  into  the  social 
and  domestic  life  of  the  Chinese  people. 

When  a  baby  boy  is  born  in  China  friends  and  neighbors  come  together 
to  rejoice,  and  throughout  his  tender  years  he  is  cared  for  most  zealously. 
Many  ingenious  contrivances  for  the  promotion  of  his  health  and  comfort  are 
procured,  as  witness  the  winter  cradle  shown  in  our  illustration;  but  there 
is  no  gladness  in  a  Chinese  family  at  the  birth  of  a  little  girl.  Parents 


U8       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

it  a  great  disgrace  to  have  only  daughters  in  their  family,  and  they  fear  the 
gods  must  be  very  eugry  to  send  them  such  a  misfortune.  And  though  it  ia 
almost  too  sad  to  believe,  the  little  baby-girls  are  sometimes  put  to  death 
by  their  own  parents,  who  do  not  want  the  trouble  of  bringing  them  up.  A 
Chinese  girl  is  seldom  taught  to  do  anything  but  to  use  her  hands,  to  cook, 
•weave,  do  embroidery,  etc.  She  is  taken  away  when  quite  a  child  from  her 
own  father  and  mother  to  be  married,  and  then,  unless  she  belongs  to  the 
poorer  classes,  she  is  seldom  seen  outside  the  house  of  her  mother-in-law. 
Indeed  you  will  not  wonder  at  this  if  you  remember  their  strange  custom  of 
cramping  the  feet  of  women  to  make  them  small.  The  mother  begins  to 
bind  the  foot  when  the  little  daughter  is  only  two  years  old,  and  the  ban- 
dages are  worn  for  years,  though  some  children  die  of  the  cruel  pain.  At 
last  the  poor  foot  loses  all  feeling,  but  it  is  crippled  and  almost  useless. 
The  small-footed  girl  cannot  walk  any  distance  without  the  help  of  a  stick, 
and  her  hobble  must  indeed  be  painful  to  see.  Yet  the  Chinese  admire  the 
walk  of  small-footed  ladies,  and  say  it  is  like  "  the  waving  of  willow  boughs 
in  a  breeze." 

The  Chinese  are  so  superstitious  as  to  believe  that  the  gods  need  very  much 
the  same  things  which  we  do,  and  are  pleased  with  the  things  which  give 
us  pleasure;  and  so,  in  their  folly,  they  try  to  send  them  money,  clothing, 
furniture  and  houses.  The  wealthy  send,  in  addition,  summer-houses,  sedan 
chairs,  pleasure  boats,  etc.  They  do  this  by  making  paper  or  wooden  repre- 
sentations of  such  things,  and  burning  them  in  front  of  the  idol  or  temple, 
they  believing  that  they  are  severally  changed  into  the  real  articles  in  the 
world  of  spirits  for  the  use  of  the  gods.  Nearly  all  heathen  people  accom- 
pany their  prayers  to  false  gods  with  beating  on  some  loud-sounding  instru- 
ment. They  seem  to  have  the  same  idea  concerning  their  gods  as  Elijah 
taunted  the  prophets  of  Baal  with  holding,  namely,  that  Baal  might  be  asleep 
and  needed  to  be  awakened  by  noise,  or  that  he  might  be  on  a  journey  and 
need  to  be  stopped  in  the  same  way.  Before  a  Chinese  worshiper  enters  a 
temple  he  gives  a  pull  on  the  bell-rope  to  inform  the  god  that  he  has  come 
to  worship,  and  to  ask  him  to  please  give  attention;  and  in  all  Buddhist 
countries  while  priests  and  people  are  engaged  in  worship,  drums  are  beaten 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  attention  of  the  gods.  Sometimes  these  drums 
are  within  and  at  other  times  without  the  temple,  and  at  other  temples  they 
are  both  within  and  without.  The  engraving  we  give  shows  the  kind  of 
drum  used  in  Northern  China,  Thibet  and  Mongolia.  Gongs  and  other  loud- 
sounding  instruments  are  also  sometimes  used  in  addition  to  the  drums. 

The  prisons  in  China  are  in  a  much  more  revolting  state  than  those  in 
Europe  were  before  John  Howard  began  his  labors  for  their  improvement, 
and  the  prisoners  who  are  not  rich,  or  who  have  not  rich  friends  willing  to 
bribe  the  jailers,  are  given  but  a  small  amount  of  coarse  food,  and  have  to 
endure  exceedingly  cruel  treatment.  Comparatively  few  criminals,  how- 
ever, are  imprisoned  after  conviction.  Several  crimes  are  punished  with 
immediate  decapitation,  or  strangulation,  and  others  with  tortures  and  flag- 
ellations. One  method  of  punishment  is  that  represented  in  the  picture. 
The  criminal  is  fastened  in  a  crouching  posture  in  what  looks  something 
like  a  cask,  but  with  his  hands  and  head  outside,  and  this  painful  position 
he  has  to  maintain  day  and  night.  In  the  illustration  the  wife  of  the  criminal 
is  represented  as  feeding  him  with  rice  by  means  of  the  Chinese  chop-sticks. 
Other  punishments  are  beating  the  cheeks  with  a  leather  instrument;  squeez- 
ing the  fingers;  beating  the  person  with  a  bamboo,  or  wooden  stick;  squeez- 
ing the  ankles;  standing  on  tip-toe  in  cages  made  of  wooden  slabs;  wearing 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         149 

a  very  tight-fitting  shirt  of  iron  wire,  through  which  the  skin  and  flesh  pro- 
trude; and  many  others  similar  to  those  which  were  used  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  Inquisition. 

•  Mandarins  and  other  wealthy  persons  in  China  have  extensive  pleasure 
grounds  connected  with  their  residences  in  which  are  erected  pavilions, 
or,  as  we  would  call  them,  summer-houses.  We  give  an  illustration  of  one 
of  those  found  in  the  grounds  of  the  Emperor's  Summer  Palace,  near  Pekin. 
Canton  is  one  of  the  finest  Chinese  cities.  Its  narrow  streets  are  filled 
with  a  stream  of  men  and  women  as  unceasing  as  the  stream  that  Sows  over 


A  CHINESE  MODE   OF  PUNISHMENT. 

London  Bridge  daily.  As  you  pass  along  the  streets  in  a  chair,  it  is  one 
continual  fight  for  passage  room;  and  the  various  collisions  that  occur  pro- 
voke groans  on  both  sides  from  the  chair-bearers  and  carriers  of  goods. 
Now  a  great  basket  of  greens  bumps  against  the  sides,  and  now  a  pig  en- 
closed in  a  basket  is  brought  up  against  the  chair,  to  the  mutual  alarm  of 
pig  and  passenger.  Presently  another  chair  comes  down  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection, and  perhaps  contains  a  portly  mandarin  in  official  garb.  Then  a 
great  shouting  ensues  on  both  sides,  and  a  tangle,  in  which  the  mandarin 
makes  the  most  of  the  opportunity  to  look  at  the  foreign  lady.  Then  the 
chairs  extricate  themselves,  and  on  patter  the  bearers.  The  streets  present 
a  very  curious  appearance,  being  hung  with  long,  colored  signboards,  which 
have  the  appearance  of  banners  streaming.  Among  these,  glinting  out 


150       CYOLOPJBDlA    Off    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

brightly  in  the  sunlight,  are  gorgeous  lanterns  and  colored  lamps,  so  that 
the  streets  present  a  festive  aspect  even  on  ordinary  occasions.  The  names 
of  the  streets  are  characteristic  of  Chinese  inflation  of  style.  One  is  called 
Street  of  Everlasting  Love;  another,  Street  of  Refreshing  Breezes;  another, 
Street  of  a  Thousand  Beatitudes;  another,  Street  of  a  Thousand  Grandsons. 
Trades  of  all  kinds  are  practiced  in  the  open  streets.  There  are  traveling 
blacksmiths,  hatters,  joiners,  umbrella  makers,  tinkers,  tinsmiths,  cooks, 
confectioners,  lapidaries,  barbers,  doctors,  dentists,  jewelers,  clothiers,  and 


A  CHINESE  PAVHION. 

<w>bblers.  They  all  carry  their  shops  about  with  them.  If  a  customer  wants 
his  shoes  mended,  he  will  find  his  man  at  the  first  street,  strike  a  bargain, 
tike  off  his  shoes,  smoke  the  cobbler's  pipe  and  wait.  A  few  steps  farther 
on  he  may  doff  his  cost,  and  hand  it  for  repair  to  a  street  tailor.  Should  he 
be  afflicted  with  toothache  while  he  Avaits  for  his  coat,  he  may  have  his  tooth 
extracted  by  some  traveling  dentist. 

Nothing  made  Nanking  so  much  celebrated  abroad  as  the  Porcelain  Tower, 
which  was  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  It  stood  pre-eminent  beyond 
ull  similar  buildings  for  its  completeness  and  elegance,  and  the  quality  of 
material  of  which  it  was  built.  It  cost  four  millions  of  dollars,  and  was 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS,    ETC.          151 

nineteen  years  in  building,  being  completed  in  A.  D.  1430.  The  outer  face 
of  this  unique  structure  was  covered  with  slabs  of  porcelain  of  various 
colors,  principally  green,  red,  yellow  and  white.  At  every  one  of  its  nine 
stories  there  was  a  projecting  roof  covered  with  green  tiles;  and  a  bell  was 
suspended  from  each  corner.  There  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  bella 


PORCELAIN  TOWEB. 

in  all,  which  gave  sweet  sounds  when  there  was  a  brisk  wind.  One  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  lamps  were  also  hung  on  the  outside.  In  the  year  1801  it 
was  seriously  injured  by  a  storm. 

The  Japanese. — As  might  be  imagined  from  the  character  of  the  gov- 
ernment, woman  plays  no  part  in  the  history  of  Japan,  though,  allowing  for 
Oriental  usages,  she  is  treated  on  the  whole  with  tolerable  leniency.  She 
occupies  a  better  position  in  the  family,  from  not  entailing  any  charge  of 
her  marriage,  as  a  bride  receives  no  dowry,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  pre- 


152       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDG B. 

eented  by  her  husband  with  a  handsome  donation,  which  is  invariably  ap- 
propriated by  her  father.  In  Japan,  therefore,  it  is  considered  more  fortu- 
nate to  have  daughters  than  sons,  as  the  former  ultimately  prove  a  very 
profitable  investment.  On  the  birth  of  a  son,  the  event  is  commemorated 
by  planting  a  tree,  which,  if  the  little  stranger  lives,  is  carefully  tended  to 
the  day  of  his  marriage,  when  it  is  cut  down  and  furnishes  material  for  a 
chest,  designed  expressly  to  hold  the  wardrobe  of  the  newly-wedded  couple. 


JAPANESE  BBEDE  AND  ATTENDANTS. 

fh«  marriage,  as  hi  China  and  Tartary,  is  an  affair  between  the  parents,  and 
the  wishes  of  the  young  people  themselves  are  never  consulted.  The  bride 
is  usually  in  her  fifteenth  year;  but  maturity  being  early  developed,  wed- 
lock may  be  contracted  at  a  still  younger  age,  and  the  mother  is  often  a 
child  herself.  Marriage  is  a  religious  ceremony,  and  is  celebrated  with 
great  pomp  and  many  forms,  in  a  public  temple,  in  presence  of  the  priests 
and  idols,  and  the  friends  and  kindred  of  both  parties.  The  priest  blackens 
the  pearly  teeth  of  the  bride,  using  for  this  purpose  the  same  indelible  lac- 
quer applied  to  coal-scuttles  and  other  similar  japan  ware;  and  this  serves, 


TRAVELS,   MANNERS  AND   CVSTOMS,   ETC. 


153 


from  that  time  to  her  death,  to  notify,  like  the  wedding  ring  of  Europe,  that 
she  has  entered  the  marriage  state. 

The  husband  has  an  absolute  power  over  his  wife;  she  is  forbidden  to 
interfere  in  anything  whatever  out  of  the  house.  "  It  is  a  just  rule,  recog- 
nized in  the  whole  world,"  says  the  great  legislator  Yeyas,  "  that  a  faithful 
husband  manages  out-of-door  business,  and  a  faithful  wile  minds  her  house- 
hold. When  a  woman  thinks  of  outside  affairs,  her  husband  neglects  his 
duties,  and  it  forcibly  leads  to  the  ruin  of  the  house.  The  hen  must  not 


A  JAPANESE  FAMILY. 

crow  at  dawn;  it  is  a  scourge,  which  every  man  jealous  of  his  dignity  and 
happiness  should  avoid."  The  husband  disposes  of  the  entirety  of  his  wife's 
fortune;  he  can  even  sell  her  when  hardly  pressed  by  want;  but  it  is  right 
to  add  that  he  seldom  takes  advantage  of  this  provision  of  the  law  for  ex- 
treme cases.  He  can  also  repudiate  her  for  a  number  of  reasons.  A  di- 
vorced woman  cannot  take  her  children  with  her;  but  divorce  is  rare  where 
there  are  children.  She  leaves  the  family  of  her  husband,  comes  back  to 
her  own,  and  is  allowed  to  marry  again  if  she  gets  the  chance,  which  is  not 
frequently.  Conjugal  association,  which  in  our  societies  has  such  a  high 


154       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    V SEP VI    KNOWLEDGE. 

social  importance,  has  but  a  very  restricted  one  in  Japan.  There  everything 
is  expected  from  the  woman,  nothing  from  the  man;  for  the  former,  mar- 
riage is  a  bond  which  death  itself  can  scarcely  sever;  for  the  latter  it  is  an 
association  in  which  he  will  remain  engaged  only  as  long  as  he  chooses. 

Among  the  first  things  that  strike  the  traveler  in  Japan  are  the  wooden 
sandals  worn  by  these  thirty-five  millions  of  people.  They  have  a  separate 
compartment  for  the  great  toe,  and  make  a  clacking  noise  on  the  street. 
Straw  slippers  are  also  worn,  and  a  traveler  setting  out  on  a  journey  will 
strap  a  supply  of  them  on  his  back  that  he  may  put  on  a  new  pair  when  the 
old  ones  are  worn  out.  They  cost  but  a  cent  and  a  half  a  pair.  They  are 
never  worn  in  the  house,  being  left  outside  the  door;  passing  down  a  street 
you  see  long  rows  of  them  at  the  doors,  old  and  new,  large  and  small.  It 


A  JAPANESE  BED. 

is  surprising  to  see  how  readily  the  Japs  step  out  of  them,  and  pick  them  up 
again  with  their  feet,  without  stopping,  when  leaving  the  house.  Constant 
habit  makes  them  dexterous. 

The  inside  rooms  of  the  houses  are  all  of  a  certain  size,  so  that  the  mats 
with  which  the  floors  are  covered  fit  snugly.  These  mats  are  braided  of  rice 
straw,  which  is  really  the  universal  material  of  the  Japanese,  as  the  European 
art  of  making  household  furniture,  such  as  beds,  tables,  chairs,  divans,  etc., 
is  not  yet  developed.  On  these  mats  they  take  their  meals;  and  family  gath- 
erings, and  in  fact  all  visitors,  find  a  soft  and  welcome  spot.  On  one  of  these 
mats  can  be  seen  the  "  shake  down  "  bed,  which  is  the  universal  couch  of 
repose,  with  its  hard  bamboo  pillow,  than  which  nothing  could  certainly  be 
more  uncomfortable  to  people  accustomed  to  the  soft  and  downy  pillow  of 
civilization. 

The  Japanese  priests,  and  also  of  the  Buddha  religion,  are  recruited 
principally  from  the  higher  clasiM,  and  a  small  portion  from  the  higher 


MANNERS  AtTt)    CUSTOMS,    ETC.          155 

middle  classes.  Around  each  one  there  seems  to  be  a  distinct  social  clan. 
The  Cinto  priests  live  in  small-built  houses  near  the  temple.  Tkey  allow 
their  wives  to  assist  in  their  priestly  duties.  Much  better,  however,  live  the 


A  JAPANESE  TEMPLE. 

priests  of  the  various  branches  of  the  Buddha  religions.  They  have  large 
revenues  and  live  a  luxurious  life;  therefore  the  least  said  of  their  morality 
the  better. 

A  traveler  thus  describes  the  arrival  at  a  Japanese  hotel:  The  landlord 
comes  to  meet  us,  falling  on  his  hands  and  knees,  bows  his  head  to  the  floor. 
One  or  two  of  the  pretty  girls  out  of  the  bevy  usually  seen  in  the  Japanese 
hotels  come  to  assist  us  and  take  our  traps.  Welcomes,  invitations,  aiid 
plenty  of  fun  greet  us  as  we  sit  down  to  take  off  our  shoes,  as  all  good  Japa- 


156      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VStiPVL    KNOWLEDGE. 


nese  do,  and  as  those  filthy  foreigners  don't,  who  tramp  on  the  clean  mats 
with  their  muddy  boots.  We  stand  up  unshod,  and  are  led  by  the  laughing 
girls  along  the  smooth  corridors,  across  an  arched  bridge,  which  spans  an 
open  space  in  which  is  a  rookery,  garden,  and  pond  stocked  with  gold-fish, 
turtles,  and  marine  plants.  The  room  which  our  fair  guides  choose  for  us 
is  at  the  rear  end  of  the  house,  overlooking  the  grand  scenery  for  which 
Eanozan  is  justly  noted  all  over  the  empire.  Ninety-nine  valleys  are  said 
to  be  visible  from  the  mountain  top  on  which  the  hotel  is  situated." 

The  Castes  and  Tribes  of  India — In  India  only  four  pure  castes 
are  recognized,  the  Brahmin  or  priests,  the  Kshatriyas,  who  are  soldiers,  the 
Vaisyas  as  husbandmen,  and  the  Sudras  as  servants  or  laborers.  Heeren 
supposed  that  the  first  three  were  a  foreign  race,  who  subdued  the  aborigines 
of  the  country,  and  reduced  them  to  an  inferior  caste.  These  four  classes  con- 
stitute the  elements  of  every  so- 
ciety in  an  early  period  of  civiliza- 
tion. Professor  Wilson  says  that 
everything  in  the  Hindoo  insti- 
tutes indicates  that  the  Brahmins 
originated  not  from  political  but 
religious  principles.  "Apparent- 
ly," he  says,  "  the  system  was  con- 
trived by  a  religious  confederation 
as  the  scheme  best  adapted  to  in- 
troduce order  among  semi-civil- 
ized tribes,  and  with  no  view  to 
their  own  advantage,  or  aggran- 
dizement or  enjoyment  of  indolent 
ease.  The  authority  of  influence, 
of  advice,  the  Brahmins  necessa- 
rily retained,  and  they  were  the 
only  competent  expounders  of  the 
laws  which  they  promulgated. 
They  had  no  other  means  of  pro- 
tection than  the  character  of  sanc- 
tity with  which  they  invested  themselves  and  which  was  equally  necessary 
to  insure  attention  to  their  instructions.  They  labored  to  deserve  the  opin- 
ion of  sanctity  by  imposing  burdensome  duties  on  themselves  of  a  domestic 
and  religious  character."  In  the  very  rudest  constitution  of  society  the 
priest  is  to  be  found.  In  addition  to  the  influence  which  he  professes  to  have 
with  good  and  evil  spirits,  he  sometimes  practices  the  medical  art,  and  in 
various  ways  sustains  his  importance  by  superior  cunning,  working  upon 
the  superstition,  ignorance,  and  fears  «f  man  in  his  most  abject  condition. 
Nowhere  has  the  influence  of  a  priesthood  been  so  paramount  and  extensive 
as  in  Hindostan.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Brahmins  never  invested  them- 
selves with  royal  authority.  The  laws  of  Menu  direct  that  "  To  one  learned 
Brahmin,  distinguished  among  the  rest,  let  the  king  impart  his  momentous 
counsel."  As  the  sole  interpreters  of  the  laws,  they  in  reality  possessed  the 
judicial  powers  of  government  as  well  as  those  of  a  legislative  character. 
The  code  was  already  perfect  and  complete,  as  coming  from  the  Divine 
Being,  and  in  no  case  could  it  be  interpreted  except  in  the  sense  the  Brah- 
mins were  pleased  to  impose.  The  king  was  little  more  than  a  servant  of 
the  Brahmins.  In  order  to  have  an  adequate  idea  of  the  superiority  of  the 


THE   HINDOO. 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC'. 


157 


ancient  Brahmin,  we  must  refer  to  the  laws  of  Menu,  which  were  probably 
promulgated  three  thousand  years  ago.  While  the  Sudra,  the  lowest  of  the 
four  castes,  was  represented  as  proceeding  from  the  foot  of  the  Creator,  the 
Brahmin  came  forth  from  his  mouth.  He  is  declared  to  be  the  lord  of  all 
the  classes,  and  from  his  high  birth  alone  is  an  object  of  veneration  even  to 
deities,  and  it  is  through  him,  and  at  his  intercession,  that  blessings  are  be- 
etowed  upon  mankind.  "  When  a  Brahmin  springs  to  light,  he  is  born  above 
the  world,  the  chief  of  all  creatures,"  the  first  duty  of  civil  magistrates  is  to 


A  BBAHHIN  EXPOUNDING  THE  VEDA. 

honor  the  Brahmins.  "  Whatever  exists  in  the  universe  is  all  in  effect,  though 
not  iu  form,  the  wealth  of  the  Brahmin,  since  the  Brahmin  is  entitled  to  it  all 
by  his  primogeniture  and  eminence  of  birth."  The  sacred  books  are  exclu- 
sively his;  and  while  the  other  classes  are  scarcely  permitted  to  read  them, 
he  is  appointed  their  sole  expounder.  For  offering  to  give  instruction  to 
Brahmins,  hot  oil  must  be  poured  into  the  offender's  mouth  and  ears,  and 
for  contumelious  language  the  punishment  is  almost  as  severe.  Mysterious 
powers  were  assigned  to  them.  "  A  priest  who  well  knows  the  law,  need 
not  complain  to  the  king  of  any  grievous  injury,  since,  even  by  his  own 
power,  he  may  chastise  those  who  injure  him;  hia  own  power  is  mightier 


158       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

than  the  royal  power."  Again,  it  is  said,  "  Let  not  the  king  provoke  Brah- 
mins to  anger,  for  they  once  enraged,  could  immediately  destroy  him,"  and 
it  is  asked,  "  What  man  desirous  of  life,  would  injure  those  by  the  aid  of 
whom  worlds  and  gods  perpetually  subsist,  those  who  are  rich  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Veda  ?  "  Extraordinary  respect  must  be  paid  to  the  most  humble 
Brahmin.  "  A  Brahmin  whether  learned  or  ignorant  is  a  powerful  divinity." 
To  confer  gifts  upon  Brahmins  was  an  essential  religious  duty.  These  gifts 
were  a  necessary  part  of  expiation  and  sacrifice.  The  Hindoo  ritual,  as 


THE  JJHEELS. 

Mr.  Will  remarks,  extended  to  almost  every  hour  of  the  day  and  every 
function  of  nature  and  society,  and  consequently,  those  who  were  the  sole 
judges  and  directors  of  its  complicated  and  endless  duties  could  not  but  be 
possessed  of  an  enormous  influence  on  the  mental  character  of  the  people. 

The  Bheels  are  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  western  part  of  India;  at 
some  remote  period,  beyond  the  reach  of  historical  records,  they  were 
driven  from  the  plains,  and  now  inhabit  the  wild  tract  of  country  which 
separates  Malwah  from  Nemaur  and  Guzerat.  While  the  history  of  the 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         159 

Bheels  naturally  excites  curiosity,  their  dispersion  over  rugged  tracts  of 
country,  and  their  ignorance  and  prejudices,  are  obstacles  to  intercourse; 
and  little  is  known  concerning  their  habits,  customs  and  forms  of  worship, 
except  that  they  are  different  from  those  of  other  races  of  India.  The  word 
"  Bheel,"  which  signifies  a  robber  or  plunderer,  is  applied  generally  to  the 
people  who  dwell  in  the  mountains  of  Central  India,  and  amid  the  thickets 
on  the  banks  of  rivers;  but  used  comprehensively  in  this  manner,  it  includes 
many  who  are  not  real  Bheels,  though  they  have  adopted  their  predatory 
habits.  Sir  John  Malcolm  divides  the  Bheels  into  three  classes — those  who 
live  in  villages,  the  agricultural  Bheels,  and  the  wild  Bheels  of  the  hills. 
"  The  first,"  he  says,  "  consist  of  a  few  who  from  ancient  residence  or  chance 
have  become  inhabitants  of  villages  on  the  plain  (though  near  the  hills),  of 
which  they  are  the  watchmen,  and  are  incorporated  as  a  portion  of  the  com- 
munity. The  cultivating  Bheela  are  those  who  have  continued  in  their 


THE  MAHBATTAS  OF  INDIA. 


peaceable  occupations  after  their  leaders  were  de&troyed  or  driven  by  in- 
vaders to  become  desperate  freebooters;  and  the  wild  or  mountain  Bheel 
comprises  all  that  part  of  the  tribe,  who,  preferring  savage  freedom  or 
indolence  to  submission  and  industry,  have  continued  to  subsist  by  plunder. 
The  wild  Bheel  are  a  diminutive,  ill  fed,  wretched  looking  people,  though 
they  are  active  and  capable  of  great  fatigue.  The  village  Bheels  are  faith- 
ful and  honest,  and  those  who  live  by  cultivation  are  industrious,  but  rude 
in  their  manners,  easily  assimilating  to  their  wilder  brethren.  The  rude 
religion  of  the  Bheela  bears  some  lesemblance  to  that  of  the  Hindoos,  but 
they  excite  horror  of  the  latter  by  eating  the  flesh  of  the  cow.  Their  cere- 
monies are  chiefly  propitiatory,  consisting  of  offerings  to  the  minor  infernal 
deities  of  the  Hindoo  mythology. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in  the  reign  of  Aurungzebe, 
the  last  powerful  and  energetic  monarch  who  ruled  over  the  Mogul  empire 


160       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


in  Hindostan,  there  descended  from  the  range  of  inaccessible  hills  which 
runs  along  the  western  coast  of  India  fierce  and  wild  bands  of  plunderers, 
whose  devastating  excursions  spread  dismay  among  the  inhabitants  of  tha 
neighboring  plains.  They  were  the  Mahrattas.  Aurungzebe  died  in  1707, 
when  the  Mogul  dominion  declined  with  frightful  rapidity.  The  Mahrattas 
now  extended  their  territories,  their  original  country,  though  large,  being 
wild  and  uncultivated.  Prcin  robbers  the  Mahrattas  became  conquerors. 
Half  the  provinces  of  the  empire  were  turned  into  Mahratta  principalities. 
Freebooters  sprung  from  low  castes  and  accustomed  to  menial  em- 
ployments became 
mighty  rajahs.  The 
Bouses,  at  the  head  of 
a  band  of  plunderers, 
occupied  the  vast  re- 
gion Berar.  The  Gui- 
cowar,  which  is,  being 
interpreted,  the 
Herdsman,  founded 
that  dynasty  which 
still  reigns  in  Guzerat. 
The  House  of  Scindia 
and  Holkar  waxed 
great  in  Malwah.  One 
adventurous  captain 
made  his  nest  on  the 
impregnable  rock  of 
G  o  o  t  i ;  another  be- 
came the  lord  of  the 
thousand  villages, 
which  are  scattered 
among  the  green  rice 
fields  of  Tanjore.  The 
formidable  confedera- 
tion of  the  Mahrattas 
was  put  an  end  to  in 
1817,  after  a  struggle 
maintained  for  many 
years  against  the 
British  power  in 
India. 

There  is  a  class  of 
Hindoo  women  whose 
fame  has  extended  far 
beyond  their  native 
land,  and  whom  poets  have  depicted,  not  without  exaggeration,  as  most 
refined  and  poetic  beings.  We  allude  to  the  Nautch  girls,  or  Bayaderes, 
whose  songs  and  dances  are  in  great  request  throughout  India,  and  are 
essential  to  the  proper  performance  of  certain  religious  rites.  Men  accom- 
pany the  movements  of  the  dancers  with  trumpets  and  cymbals,  while  other 
Bayaderes,  who  sit  around  in  a  circle,  beat  time  with  their  hands,  and  sing 
a  monotonous  refrain.  The  effect  of  the  dance  is  produced  less  by  the  grace 
of  the  dancer  than  by  her  gay-colored  garments  and  the  profusion  of 
jewelry  with  which  she  is  literally  loaded.  Their  costumes  are  always  rich, 


A  NATIVE  MUSICIAN  OF  INDIA. 


TRAVELS,    MAXXEHb    AXD    CUSTOMS,    ETV. 


161 


and  arranged  with  a  considerable  degree  of  arfc.  One  of  the  most  effective 
is  composed  of  a  jacket  very  low  in  the  neck,  trousers,  and  a  long  veil  which 
floats  about  the  entire  body. 

The  Banjara  women  are  noted  for  their  beauty;  slender,  with  finely 
formed  limbs,  and  a  noble  expression,  each  of  their  movements  displays 
pride  and  grace.  Their  dress  is  a  short  jacket,  and  a  long  plaited  robe. 


NATIVES  OF  BANJABA,  INDIA. 


Over  the  pointed  head-dress  a  cloth  is  thrown,  which  falls  down  the  back, 
and  envelopes  the  figure  like  a  cloak.  Their  jewelry  often  represents  the 
entire  capital  of  their  husbands.  They  wear  rings  in  the  nose  and  ears, 
rings  and  chains  braided  in  their  hair,  and  bands  of  shells,  and  red  and 
blue  ivory  rings  upon  their  arms.  Upon  their  ankles  they  load  heavy 
metallic  rings  hung  with  many  little  bells.  These  walking  jewelers'  shops 


162       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

present  a  truly  picturesque  appearance  throned  upon  camels,  their  gar- 
ments flowing  in  graceful  folds,  and  holding  a  child  in  their  arms.  The 
position  of  these  women  is  far  from  happy.  In  their  wanderings  the  care  of 
the  herds  falls  entirely  upon  them,  the  men  contenting  themselves  with 
patrolling  the  camps,  and  protecting  them  against  the  attacks  of  robbers 
and  wild  animals. 

At  the  threshold  of  India,  hi  the  northwestern  angle  of  the  Himalayan 


WOMEN  OF  THE  HIMALAYAS. 

mountain  chain,  lies  the  renowned  province  of  Cashmere,  surrounded  by 
ranges  of  snow-clad  mountains,  some  of  which  are  the  loftiest  known.  Its 
deep  secluded  valleys  are  carpeted  with  the  richest  flowers  and  the  r»ost 
luxurious  vegetation.  Waterfalls  dash  in  musical  cadence  from  the  cliffs, 
and  numerous  lakes  reflect  and  multiply  the  magnificent  landscapes  which 
surround  them  on  every  side.  The  people  who  inhabit  this  paradise  are 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.       163 

usually  handsome,  with  faultless  physical  proportions.  Their  rather 
prominent  noses  scarcely  detract  from  the  glorious  beauty  of  their  spark- 
ling eyes.  The  women,  however,  are  fickle  and  crafty,  and  the  keen 
tongue  of  a  Cashmere  beauty  is  as  much  dreaded  as  her  caprice. 

The  magnificence  of  the  Taje  Mahal  and  the  "  City  of  Palaces,"  Calcutta, 
lead  us  to  a  somewhat  exaggerated  idea  of  the  splendor  of  India  and  its 
advancement  in  the  scale  of  civilization.  Many  think  it  has  risen  out  of  its 
legends  and  superstitions  since  ruled  by  the  British  crown,  and  so  fail  to 
consider  that  it  is  still,  to  a  large  extent,  governed  by  its  native  chiefs,  and 
consequently  retains  most  of  its  old  customs  and  strange  laws  of  caste  and 
peculiar  religious  rites.  One  of  these  idolatrous  rites  is  represented  in  our 


SUTTEE  WOESHIP,  INDIA. 

illustration  of  Suttee  worship,  which  is  preceded  one  month  by  noisy  festivi- 
ties, and  as  the  day  of  the  sacrifice  approaches,  the  offering  is  decked  with 
flowers  and  a  weird  dance  is  held  around  her,  after  which  the  offering  to 
this  feast  is  bound  to  the  holy  stake.  The  priests  then  recite  the  ritual 
forms,  informing  their  gods  that  upon  the  next  day  the  sacrifice  will  be 
made,  and  a  human  life  will  go  out  from  the  dark  heathenism  of  India  with 
its  beautiful  Vale  of  Cashmere. 

Our  next  Mhistratiou,  primitive  as  it  may  appear,  represents  a  better 
civilization.  Although  English  «oaches  and  Hansom  cabs  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  larger  cities,  yet  when  one  arrives  in  what  we  call  the  coun- 
try towns,  there  is  found  the  zebu  carriage  in  all  its  glory,  drawn  by  animals 
representing  a  cross  between  an  ox  and  deer,  with  fatty  protuberances  on  \\$ 


164       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


ZEBU  CAEBIAGE,   INDIA. 

shoulders.  The  carriage  resembles  a  dog  or  village  cart,  and  possesses  a 
canopy  to  protect  the  occupant  from  the  rays  of  the  Indian  sun.  The  driver, 
seated  almost  on  the  bovines'  haunches,  shouts  vigorously  from  time  to 
time  at  the  animals,  with  little  result  as  to  speed. 

The  natives  of  Scinde,  India,  dwelling  on  the  shores  of  the  Indus,  have  a 
very  primitive  and  original  method  of  taking  the  fish  necessary  for  their 


TRAVELS     MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS,    ETG. 


165 


subsistence.  The  fisherman  launches  into  the  water  a  large  and  very  light 
earthen  vessel,  ami  lying  face  downward  upon  it,  commends  himself  to  the 
mercy  of  Allah  and  pushes  off  from  the  shore.  Impelling  his  singular 
bark  forward  with  his  feet  and  hands,  he  skims  over  the  water,  as  our 
engraving  on  preceding  page  represents.  He  holds  in  his  right  hand 
a  pitchfork  about  fifteen  feet  long,  to  which  is  attached  a  large  net, 
which  he  closes  immediately  the  fish  is  taken,  and  transfers  the  fish  to 
hia  vessel.  Floating  with  confidence  over  the  water,  the  fisherman  pro- 


SENEGAMBIA  FUIAHS. 

ceeds  several  miles  from  the  shore,  suffering  himself  to  be  carried  forward 
by  the  current  on  account  of  the  puia,  a  fish  in  much  esteem,  always  swim- 
ming against  the  stream.  Others  content  themselves  with  fishing  for  the 
puia  with  a  net,  standing  on  the  shore. 

Life  in  Africa. — Senegambia  is  the  name  given  to  that  portion  of  West- 
ern Africa  which  is  watered  by  the  two  great  rivers  of  Senegal  and  Gambia. 
The  face  of  this  large  tract,  which  extends  interiorward  to  the  distance  of 
six  or  seven  hundred  miles,  is  generally  flat  and  monotonous.  The  princi- 


1C6       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


pal  native  tribes  of  Sencgambia  are  the  Jaloffs,  tlio  Mandingocs,  and  the 
Fulah.  The  Fulahs  of  Futa-Jallon  differ  very  materially  from  the  ordinary 
negro  races,  and  can  scarcely  be  classed  iu  the  same  family.  Their  com- 
plexion is  a  brownish  black,  with  hair  soft  and  curly,  foreheads  good,  lips 
thin.  In  staiure  they  are  of  middle  size,  limbs  delicate  but  well  formed, 
and  in  gait  graceful  arid  independent.  The  Fulahs  have  a  tradition  that 
they  are  descended  from  Phut,  the  son  of  Ham.  They  are  Mohammedans, 
and  are  zealous  in  proselyting  the  heathen  tribes. 

The  Sourigo,  also  natives  of  West  Africa,  are  a  warh'ke  and  savage  race, 

and,  unlike  the  Fu- 
lahs, their  skin  ia 
extremely  black, 
their  lips  thick  and 
their  countenance 
repulsive.  They 
have  frequently 
been  known  to  attack 
and  kill  travelers 
from  apparently  no 
other  motive  than 
pure  wantonness. 

Congo  women  are 
not  better  treated 
than  women  else- 
where in  Africa.  In- 
deed, it  is  said  that 
one  of  the  greatest 
marks  of  affection 
which  a  husband  can 
bestow  on  his  wife  ia 
a  good  horse-whip- 
ping, and  that  a 
Congo  wife  considers 
herself,  very  badly 
used,  and  her  rela- 
tive s  remonstrate 
vrith  her  husband,  if 
she  does  not  receive 
the  chastisement  at 
regular  intervals.  A 
woman,  however, 
may  ascend  the 


THE  SOUKIGO,  NATIVES  OF  'WEST  AFBICA. 


throne,  and  the  reign  of  one  named  Shinga,  who  came  to  power  in  1640,  fills  a 
considerable  chapter  in  the  unwritten  annals  of  Equatorial  Africa.  Through 
the  intrigues  of  Jesuit  priests,  to  whose  rites  she  would  not  submit,  sho 
was  forced  to  fly  the  kingdom,  after  contending  with  her  nephew  in  three 
pitched  battles,  which  she  lost.  In  1646  she  regained  her  kingdom  after 
many  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  By  this  time  sho  had  got  so  accustomed  to 
war  that  she  cared  for  nothing  else,  and  her  life  was  spent  in  hostilities 
against  her  neighbors.  Before  she  undertook  any  new  enterprise  she  would 
sacrifice  the  handsomest  man  she  could  find. 

In  nearly  all  parts  of  Africa  the  most  rigid  distinctions  of  caste  are  en- 
forced.   When  a  native  approaches  hia  superior,  he  prostrates  himself  upon 


TRAVELS.    MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC. 


167 


the  ground,  burying  hia  head  in  the  earth,  and  durst  not  arise  from  this 
position  until  the  greater  man  has  passed. 

The  Bakalaharis  are  a  timid  race,  encountered  by  Dr.  Livingstone  in  his 
expedition  of  South  Eastern  Africa.  The  constant  dread  of  being  attacked 
by  savage  tribes  drives  them  to  a  distance  from  rivers  or  lakes.  When  they 
by  chance  discover  a  small  poud  they  cover  it  up  with  sand.  The  women, 
when  they  are  in  need  of  water,  place  in  a  net  which  they  carry  on  their 
backs  twenty  or  thirty  empty  ostrich  eggs,  which  serve  as  vases.  They  then 


CHIEF'S  "WIFE  TBAVELTNG,  CENTRAL  AFKICA. 

attach  to  the  end  of  a  reed  two  feet  long  a  tuft  of  herbage,  which  is  thrust 
into  a  hole  in  the  moist  ground,  the  surrounding  space  being  closed  up  by 
the  moist  earth.  By  applying  their  lips  to  the  exposed  end  of  the  reed,  the 
•water  is  drawn  into  their  mouths,  and  thence  transferred  by  another  reed  to 
the  ostrich  eggs. 

Cameron's  "Across  Africa"  says  that  on  the  death  of  a  Urua  chief  it  is 
the  custom  "  to  divert  the  course  of  a  stream,  and  in  its  bed  to  dig  an  enor- 


168       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


mous  p:t,  the  bottom  of  which  is  then  covered  with  living  women.  At  one 
end  a  woman  is  placed  on  her  hands  and  knees,  and  upon  her  back  the 
dead  chief,  covered  with  his  beads  and  treasures,  is  seated,  being  supported 
on  either  side  by  one  of  his  wives,  while  his  second  wife  sits  at  his  feet. 
The  earth  is  then  shoveled  in  on  them,  and  all  the  women  are  buried  alive, 
with  the  exception  of  the  second  wife.  To  her,  custom  is  more  merciful 
than  to  her  companions,  and  grants  her  the  privilege  of  being  killed  before 
the  huge  grave  is  filled  in.  This  being  completed,  a  number  of  male  slaves 
— sometimes  forty  or  fifty — are  slaughtered,  and  their  blood  poured  over  the 
grave,  after  which  the  river  is  allowed  to  resume  its  course." 

Upon  the  death  of  any  man  of  position  or  wealth  in  Madagascar,  on  the 

day  of  the  funeral 
the  wife  is  placed  in 
the  house,  dressed 
in  all  her  best 
clothes,  and  covered 
with  her  silver  orna- 
ments, of  which  the 
Sihanaka  wear  a 
considerable  quan- 
tity. There  she  re- 
mains until  the  rest 
of  the  family  return 
home  from  the  tomb. 
But  as  soon  as  they 
enter  the  house  they 
begin  to  revile  her 
with  the  most  abu- 
sive language — tell- 
ing her  that  it  is  her 
fault  that  her  wini- 
arm,OT  fate,  has  been 
stronger  than  that 
of  her  husband,  and 
that  she  is  virtually 
the  cause  of  his 
death.  They  then 
strip  her  of  her 
clothes,  tearing  off 
with  violence  the  or- 
naments from  her 
neck,  arms  and  ears. 
They  give  her  a 
coarse  cloth,  a  spoon 
with  a  broken  handle,  and  a  dish  with  a  foot  broken  off,  from  which  to  eat. 
Her  hair  is  disheveled,  and  she  is  covered  up  with  a  coarse  mat.  Under 
that  she  remains  lying  all  day,  and  can  leave  it  only  at  night;  and  she  may 
not  speak  to  any  one  who  goes  into  the  house.  She  is  not  allowed  to  wash 
her  face  and  hands,  but  only  the  tips  of  her  fingers  She  endures  all  this 
sometimes  for  a  year,  or  at  least  for  eight  months;  and  even  when  that  is 
over  the  time  of  mourning  ie  not  ended  for  a  considerable  period,  for  she  ia 
not  allowed  to  go  home  to  her  own  relations  until  she  lias  first  been  divorced 
by  her  husband's  family. 


SALUTING  A  SUPERIOR. 


TRAVELS,   MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,   ETC.        169 

Religious  Customs  in  Palestine.— An  English  gentleman  who  haa 
lately  traveled  in  Palestine,  recently  gave  a  description  of  the  curious  scenes 
that  are  enacted  in  the  church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  He  said  that  when 
you  first  entered  the  church,  you  would  be  surprised  to  see  a  party  of  sol- 
diers, with  their  swords  by  their  sides,  and  their  guns  stacked  within  reach. 
It  seemed  a  sacrilege  in  such  a  holy  place,  and  struck  one  rather  unpleas- 
antly. But  he  soon  found  out  the  necessity  for  it.  According  to  the  law  of 
the  country,  every  sect  is  allowed  to  worship  there;  and  as  it  is  considered 
equally  sacred  both  by  Christians  and  Mohammedans,  all  wish  a  time  for 
their  mode  of  wor- 
ship. The  law  al- 
lows them  an  hour 
each.  They  com- 
mence at  six  in  the 
morning.  At  that 
hour,  thosewho  have 
the  first  privilege 
enter,  bringing  with 
them  whatever  is 
necessary  to  conduct 
their  particular  re- 
ligious rites.  They 
go  through  their 
prayers  and  chants, 
and  all  is  very  quiet 
till  about  a  quarter 
to  seven,  when  those 
who  have  the  privi- 
lege of  the  next  hour 
begin  to  arrive.  At 
first,  all  is  decorum; 
but  presently  the 
new  comers  begin  to 
hiss  and  mock.  As 
their  numbers  in- 
crease, and  they  be- 
come stronger,  they 
get  more  and  more 
bold.  A  few  minutes 
before  seven,  they 
proceed  to  more  for- 
cible demonstration. 

They  think,  if  they  can  clear  out  these  blasphemers  a  few  minutes  before 
the  time,  they  have  done  so  much  good  work  for  God;  while  the  worshipers, 
on  the  other  hand,  think,  if  they  can  keep  possession  a  few  minutes  after 
the  time,  they  have  done  an  equally  good  work.  As  some  of  these  sects  use 
torches,  wax  candles,  staves  or  crooks,  in  their  worship,  they  proceed  to  use 
these  as  weapons  of  offense  or  defense,  and  a  regular  melee  ensues.  Then 
come  in  the  soldiers,  who  separate  the  combatants  by  filing  in  between  them, 
turning  out  those  whose  hour  is  up,  and  leaving  the  place  in  possession  of 
the  last  comers.  If  blood  is  shed  the  church  is  closed  for  the  day.  Such 
scenes  are  occurring  all  day  long,  and  the  presence  of  soldiers  is  therefor* 
absolutely  necessary. 


WOMEN  FILLING  WATER  SKINS. 


170       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Arabs. — The  passion  of  the  Arab  lover  exhausts  itself  upon  the 
maiden;  it  never  extends  to  the  wife.  His  wooing  is  most  ardent,  and  all 
his  war  songs  are  intermingled  with  thoughts  of  his  mistress;  but  the  Arab 
woman's  married  life  is  prosaic  in  the  extreme — indeed  she  is  little  better 
than  the  slave  of  her  husband.  The  Bedouin  marriage  ceremony  is  usually 
as  follows:  After  the  wooing,  which  is  mostly  done  with  a  friend  of  the  father 
of  the  intended  bride,  the  time  is  fixed  for  the  wedding  feast,  ordinarily  five 
or  six  days  after  the  betrothal.  On  the  wedding  night  young  men  chosen  for 
the  purpose  kindle  a  fire  before  the  tent  of  the  bride,  around  which  they 


A  FAMILY  OF  BEDOUINS. 


gather  and  discharge  their  muskets,  at  which  the  women  set  up  their  shrill 
"  Elmuta  wahat"  or  song,  each  strophe  of  which  is  accompanied  with  a 
peculiar  shout,  the  thrilling  "  li-li-li-li "  of  the  chorus  ringing  away  over  the 
steppes,  inviting  the  occupants  of  the  most  distant  tents  to  collect  around 
the  bridal-fire.  Each  takes  up  the  shout,  the  desert  resounds  with  the 
marching  call,  "  Isru,"  and  men  and  women  rush  together,  amid  the  deaf- 
ening din  of  yelp,  and  shriek,  and  the  discharge  of  musketry.  After  a  while 
the  disorder  ceases  and  is  followed  by  songs.  The  older  people  sip  their 
coffee  and  smoke,  the  younger  members  of  the  party  dance,  and  the  women 
keep  up  their  ear-splitting  "  Sagrttia"  far  into  the  night.  Among  many  01 
the  Bedouin  tribes,  the  bridegroom  comes  and  snatches  his  bride  and  carries 
her  away  by  force,  either  from  her  own  tent  or  that  of  a  neighbor,  or,  as 
•with  the  Bedouins  of  Sinai,  from  the  mountain  where  she  haa  hidden  her- 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.          171 

self.    It  is  considered  entirely  correct  for  the  bride  to  escape  from  her  hue- 
baud's  house  if  she  can. 

Among  the  Arabs  the  dress  for  men  and  women  differs  but  little,  many 
garments  being  worn  in  common,  varied  only  by  the  manner  of  putting  them 
on.  A  tunic,  coat  or  inner  garment  is  usually  made  of  two  pieces  of  linen, 
sewed  together  at  the  sides,  and  it  reaches  to  the  knees.  The  abba,  or  or- 
dinary outer  garment,  is  an  oblong  piece  of  woolen  cloth,  about  five  yards 
long  by  five  feet  wide.  It  can  be  wrapped  around  'the  body  or  worn  over 
the  shoulder  like  a  shawl,  with  the  ends  of  the  "  skirt "  hanging  down  in 
front.  A  long  tunic  without  sleeves  is  sometimes  worn,  as  a  third  garment, 
between  these  two.  Changes  of  garments  constitute  an  important  part  of 
a  man's  wealth. 

The  wandering  Arab  tribes  of  the  present  day  dwell  in  tents.  If  possi- 
ble, these  are  pitched 
near  the  shade  of  a  tree. 
The  larger  tents  are  di- 
vided into  three  apart- 
ments, the  inner  of  which 
is  given  to  the  women, 
and  the  outer  to  the  ser- 
vants, with  the  young  of 
the  herds.  An  Arab  camp 
is  always  circular  in  form 
and  removed  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  central 
tent  of  the  chief. 

The  "  simoon,"  or 
poison  wind  of  Arabia, 
is  a  serious  affair  to  the 
persons  caught  in  it.  The 
center  of  the  column  of 
wind  is  composed  of  a 
poisonous  gas,  to  breathe 
which  is  death.  Round 
this  center  there  eddy 
violent  gusts  of  heated 
and  impregnated  air,  like  that  of  a  furnace.  It  approaches  slowly  amid 
the  whirl  of  air  currents  that  precede  it  for  some  distance.  During  its 
presence  the  only  chance  of  preserving  life  is  found  in  covering  the  face  with 
a  cloth  and  lying  prone  on  the  sand,  inhaling  what  little  pure  air  may  be 
found  next  to  the  earth.  Meanwhile,  the  feeling  of  the  chest  is  that  of  suffo- 
cation, and  that  of  the  limbs  as  though  moulten  iron  was  being  poured  over 
them.  Camels  instinctively  bury  their  nozzles  in  the  sand;  but  horses  do 
not  possess  the  same  preservatory  instincts,  and  often  perish  in  consequence. 

Female  Beauty — The  ladies  of  Arabia  stain  their  fingers  and  toes 
red,  their  eyebrows  black,  and  their  lips  blue.  In  Persia  they  paint  a  black 
streak  around  their  eyes,  and  ornament  their  faces  with  various  figures. 
The  Japanese  women  gild  their  teeth,  and  those  of  the  Indians  paint  them 
red.  The  pearl  of  the  tooth  must  be  dyed  black  to  be  beautiful  in  Guzerat. 
The  Hottentot  women  paint  the  entire  body  in  compartments  of  red  and 
black.  In  Greenland  the  women  color  their  faces  with  blue  and  yellow,  and 
they  frequently  tattoo  their  bodies,  by  saturating  threads  in  soot,  inserting 


AEAB  DRESS. 


172       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

them  beneath  the  skin,  and  then  drawing  them  through.  Hindoo  families, 
when  they  wish  to  appear  particularly  lovely,  smear  themselves  with  a  mix- 
ture of  saffron,  tumeric  and  grease.  In  nearly  all  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
and  Indian  Oceans,  the  women,  as  well  as  the  men,  tattoo  a  great  variety  of 
figures  on  the  face,  lips,  tongue  and  the  whole  body.  In  New  Holland  they 
cut  themselves  with  shears,  and  keeping  the  wounds  open  a  long  time,  form 
scars  m  the  flesh,  which  they  deem  highly  ornamental.  Another  singular 
mutilation  is  made  by  taking  off,  in  infancy,  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand 
at  the  second  joint.  In  ancient  Persia,  an  aquiline  nose  was  highly  prized;  but 
the  Sumatran  mother  carefully  flattens  the  nose  of  her  daughter.  By  some 
of  the  savage  tribes  iii  Oregon,  and  also  in  Sumatra  and  Aracan,  continual 
pressure  is  applied  to  the  skull  in  order  to  flatten  it,  and  thus  give  it  new 
beauty.  The  modern  Persians  have  a  strong  aversion  to  red  hair.  Turks, 
on  the  contrary,  are  warm  admirers  pf  it.  In  China,  small  round  eyes  are 


AN  ABAB  TENT. 

liked,  and  the  girls  are  continually  plucking  their  eyebrows,  that  they  may 
be  thin  and  long.  But  the  great  beauty  of  a  Chinese  lady  is  in  her  feet, 
which  in  her  childhood  are  so  compressed  by  bandages  as  effectually  to  pre- 
vent any  further  increase  in  size.  The  four  smaller  toes  are  bent  under 
the  foot,  to  the  sole  of  which  they  firmly  adhere;  and  the  poor  girl  not  only 
endures  much  pain,  but  becomes  a  cripple  for  life.  Another  mark  of  beauty 
consists  in  finger  nails  so  long  that  casings  and  bamboo  are  necessary  to 
preserve  them  from  injury.  An  African  beauty  must  have  small  eyes, 
thick  lips,  large  flat  nose,  and  a  skin  beautifully  black.  In  New  Guinea  the 
nose  is  perforated,  and  a  large  piece  of  wood  or  bone  inserted.  In  the  north- 
west coast  of  America  an  incision  more  than  two  inches  in  length  is  made  in 
the  lower  lip,  and  then  filled  with  a  wooden  plug.  In  Guinea  the  lips  are 
pierced  with  thorns,  the  heads  being  inside  the  mouth,  and  the  points  rest- 
ing on  the  chin. 

Turkish  Life  and  Customs.— On  entering  within  the  gates  of  a 
Turkish  house  the  ecene  forma  a  ttriking  contrast  with  the  dull,  sombre  ex- 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         173 

tenor.  An  open  coTirt,  often  paved  with  beautiful  marble  slabs,  and  always, 
when  the  weather  is  fine,  covered  with  matting,  shelving  terraces,  and  par- 
terres of  flowers  round  parts  of  this  court,  and  gaily-painted  alcoves,  gal- 
leries, pillars,  and  the  hanging  roofs  of  the  apartments  flanking  the  court  in 
other  parts.  The  ground  floor  ia  given  up  to  the  kitchen,  offices,  and  the 
servants.  The  upper  or  grand  apartment  ia  divided  into  two.  One  of  these 
divisions  is  occupied  by  the  master  of  the  house,  and  is  open  to  all  male 
servants  and  visitors;  the  other,  called  the  harem — which  word  signifies  a 
"  holy  place  " — is  devoted  to  the  women.  The  rooms  of  reception  that  open 
upon  the  great  corridor  are  spacious,  seldom  very  lofty,  and  always  plain. 
The  ceilings  of  the  rooms,  which  are  among  the  most  ornamental  portions  of 
a  Mussulman's  apartment,  are  exceedingly  beautiful.  Indeed,  in  many 


INTERIOR  OF  A  TUHKISH   HOUSE. 

houses  it  seems  as  if  all  art  and  ornament  were  reserved  to  be  lavished  on 
the  ceiling.  It  is  formed  of  curiously  tessellated  wood-work,  at  times  rep- 
resenting a  mosaic  in  wood,  dotted  here  and  there  with  golden  stars;  at 
times  painted  in  the  arabesque  style  with  green,  blue,  and  gold,  and  in  the 
most  varied  and  complicated  designs. 

Nothing  impresses  a  stranger  with  the  difference  between  Constantinople 
and  even  the  smallest  western  town,  more  forcibly  than  the  almost  total  ab- 
sence of  carriages,  and  the  contrast  between  those  that  are  seen  and  any 
that  have  ever  been  met  before.  The  native  coach  is  resplendent  with  yel- 
low, and  the  canopy  decked  with  numberless  red  tassels,  which  are  re- 
peated with  the  addition  of  bells  on  the  harness  of  the  mule,  and  a  more 
thoroughly  uncomfortable  machine  in  which  to  go  a  pleasuring  than  a  telekah 
can  hardly  exist.  The  narrowness  of  the  road  obliges  one  carriage  to  come 
to  a  standstill  while  another  passes;  this  enables  one  to  see  the  veiled  ladies 
of  course,  a  la  Turque.  It  ia  a  rare  picture  that  we  view  from  our 


174       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

window;  it  consists  of  a  large  square  full  of  fountains,  grass  plots,  flower- 
beds, gilded  cages,  vases  filled  witb  roses  and  clinging  vines,  hanging- 
baskets  that  shine  like  gold,  while  here  and  there  servants  or  guests,  in 
picturesque  garments,  move  about  with  languid,  indolent  grace.  There  is 
an  old  grandfather  Turk  standing  under  the  doorway;  his  servant  spreads 
a  beautiful  mat  at  his  feet,  and  brings  him  an  Oriental  pipe.  His  head  has 
long  silver- white  locks,  and  such  a  beard  1  It  positively  etherealizes  smok- 
ing to  see  it  enjoyed  in  that  manner.  If  you  want  to  succeed  among  Orien- 
tals, yeu  must  never  show  yourself  to  be  in  a  hurry.  Lemonade,  sweet- 
meats, coffee,  and  pipes  are  served  with  great  formality  on  the  streets,  and 


LIFE  IN  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

at  all  hours  can  be  seen  the  native  smoking  accompanied  by  no  end  of  dogs, 
which  are  more  numerous  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople  than  the  sands  of 
Egypt. 

In  a  Turkish  house  the  men  and  women  do  not  take  their  meals  together, 
do  not  sit  around  a  table,  and  can  hardly  be  said  to  feed  decently.  It  is 
quite  possible  for  men  and  women  who  do  not  know  the  use  of  a  fork  to  be 
very  clean  about  their  food,  but  the  use  of  a  fork  is  a  great  step  toward 
cleanliness  in  eating.  A  Turk  holding  a  considerable  position  in  the  State 
will  take  a  handful  of  boiled  rice  from  the  common  dish,  and  after  having 
squeezed  all  the  water  out  by  working  it  well  in  his  hands,  will  put  the  lump 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETV.         175 

into  the  mouth  of  a  guest  as  a  mark  of  peculiar  favor.  There  is  a  slovenli- 
ness about  Turks  at  their  meals  which  is  probably  clue  to  the  fact  that  men 
and  women  do  not  take  their  meals  together.  The  object  of  the  meal  is 
solely  to  eat. 

Turkish  women  have  oval  faces,  clear  ohve  skins,  languishing  dark  eyes, 
and  beautiful  hands,  soft  as  velvet  and  white  as  snow — beyond  this,  noth- 
ing. They  lack  the  natural  grace  and  pretty  coquetry  of  Levantine  belles, 
the  firm  tread,  elegant  manners  and  becoming  modesty  of  European  women. 
Their  figures  are  clumsy,  their  features  somewhat  harsh,  their  lips  full  and 
often  thick;  they  walk  with  a  roll  (their  legs  being  bowed),  and  even  their 
natural  attractions  depend  more  or  less  upon  artificial  aid.  They  thickly 
powder  their  faces,  blacken  their  brows,  and  dye  their  eyelids  and  lashes, 
so  that  when  half  veiled  by  the  yashmak  screen  they  are  certainly  striking 
and  present  a  dazzling  effect;  but  under  other  circumstances  most  of  them 
would  pass  unobserved.  Many  of  the  children  are  beautiful,  with  round, 
rosy,  plump  faces  and  golden  brown  hair;  their  dress  is,  however,  frightful 
and  ridiculous;  they  wear  wide  pantaloons  and  long  skirts  of  some  out- 
rageous color  (often  yellow),  badly-fitting  shoes  and  a  smartly-colored  cap 
perched  on  the  tops  of  their  heads. 

A  Turkish  wedding  is  thus  described:  "  The  bride  was  dressed  hi  white  silk, 
brocaded  with  silver  and  pearls,  and  around  her  waist  was  a  belt  containing 
a  fortune  in  precious  stones.  Her  cheeks  were  painted  a  deep  crimson,  laid 
on  in  a  heart  shape,  and  another  heart  was  painted  on  the  chin,  the  rest  of 
the  .face  white  as  luminous  cosmetic  could  make  it.  The  eyebrows  were 
painted  intensely  black;  they  met,  and  were  stretched  to  the  temples.  Her 
fingers  were  dyed  deep  crimson,  and  her  long,  black  hair  was  braided  full 
of  little  jingling  coins.  Her  little  feet  were  shod  hi  velvet  slippers,  em- 
broidered with  pearls,  and  she  wore  great  diamond  earrings.  After  drink- 
ing coffee — which  the  writer  would  fain  immortalize,  it  was  so  very  precious 
— and  gulping  down  some  rare  Turkish  bonbons,  mixed  with  paste  and 
paregoric,  they  inspected  the  trousseau  of  the  bride.  The  chief  priest  who 
performed  the  ceremony  was  blazing  with  jewels,  and  wore  a  eostly  mitre. 
He  kept  the  poor  little  bride  waiting  three  whole  hours  while  he  was  at- 
tending another  wedding,  but  the  people  seemed  to  bear  the  delay  with 
patience.  The  bride  was  rather  under  the  ordinary  height,  and  the  bride- 
groom a  very  tall  man,  and  they  were  obliged  to  stand  with  their  foreheads 
touching  each  other  during  the  entire  ceremony,  which  took  a  whole  hour. 
After  the  ceremony  the  bride  was  placed  on  a  high  chair,  and  the  bridegroom 
came  forward  with  a  richly-trimmed  cushion  bearing  the  bridal  presents — 
a  watch  and  chain,  a  diamond  brooch,  earrings,  necklace  and  bracelets,  and 
a  large  knitted  purse  filled  with  gold.  The  bridegroom  parted  the  great 
veil  which'hung  over  the  new  wife,  and  adorned  her  with  the  jewels.  Then 
she  was  lifted  by  men  and  seated  astride  a  small  barrel  of  wine,  and  the 
feast  commenced.  She  was  obliged  to  sit  there  till  all  the  wine  was  drank 
out  of  the  barrel,  which  was  nearly  two  hours.  She  looked  tired  enough, 
and  it  was  daylight  before  the  feast  was  ended  and  the  bride  borne  away." 

The  marriage  of  princesses,  on  whose  expenses,  as  the  Hatti  Hamayoun 
of  1858  stated,  no  saving  could  be  effected,  deserves  special  notice.  If  one 
of  the  sultan's  daughters  has  attained  the  age  at  which  Turkish  girls  are 
generally  married,  the  father  seeks  a  husband  for  her  among  the  nobles  at 
his  court.  If  a  young  man  specially  pleases  her,  he  is  given  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-general,  nothing  lower  being  ever  selected.  The  chosen  man 
veceivcs,  in  addition,  a  magnificent  fully-furnished  palace,  and  sixty  thon- 


176       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

jand  piastres  a  month,  pocket  money;  and,  in  addition,  his  father-in-law 
defrays  all  the  house-keeping  expenses.  The  bridegroom  is  not  always  over 
and  above  pleased  at  being  selected.  If  he  be  married,  he  is  obliged  to  get 
a  divorce — he  must  never  have  a  wife  or  mistress  in  addition  to  the  princess; 
and,  moreover,  he  is  regarded  as  the  servant  rather  than  the  husband  of 
his  wife.  The  sultan  himself  announces  to  him  his  impending  good  fortune, 
and  it  is  his  bounden  duty  to  bow  reverentially,  kiss  the  sultan's  feet,  and 
stammer  a  few  words  about  the  high  honor,  the  unexpected  happiness,  etc. 
He  then  proceeds  with  a  chamberlain,  who  bears  the  imperial  Hatt  to  the 
sublime  porte.  A  military  band  precedes  him,  and  soldiers  are  drawn  up 
along  the  road,  who  present  arms.  At  the  head  of  the  stairs  the  bridegroom 
is  received  by  the  grand  vizier,  conducted  by  him  into  a  room  where  all  the 
ministers  are  assembled,  and  the  Hatt  is  read  aloud.  This  ceremony  cor- 
responds to  the  betrothal. 

Mexican  Life. — The  Mexican  country  women,  generally  mixtures  of 
very  different  grades  of  blood  and  nationality,  differ  widely  from  the  pure 

Spanish  Creoles  of  the  capi- 
tal. They  are  not  without 
many  attractive  features; 
their  eyes  are  often  bril- 
liant and  fiery,  their  hair 
glossy  and  abundant,  but 
their  noses  are  apt  to  be 
ugly,  their  mouths  large, 
and  their  cheek  bones  too 
prominent.  Their  dress 
consists  mostly  of  a  light 
skirt  of  lively  colors  and  a 
simple  waist  of  white 
•woolen. 

Very  little  progress  has 
been  made  in  the  method 
of  farming  in  Mexico, 
many  of  the  implements 
being  crude  and  of  a  pat- 
tern  m  U8e  centuries  ago. 

_  _-       t  ... 

As  nearly  all  the  cultiva- 
tion is  done  by  irrigation,  crops  are  much  more  certain  than  in  some 
districts  of  the  United  States.  The  plows  used  are  wooden  ones,  like 
those  used  in  ancient  Egypt,  made  of  a  straight  piece  of  mesquit  tim- 
ber a  yard  long,  pointed  at  one  end  and  wedge-shaped  at  the  bottom.  On 
top  of  this  is  set,  at  an  angle  of,  say  25  degrees,  a  long  pole,  which,  going 
forward,  is  attached  to  a  cross  bar  which  is  tied  to  the  horns  of  the  oxen;  on 
the  rear  end  a  single  upright  stick  serves  for  the  handles  by  which  the 
peon  guides  his  plow.  With  this  primitive  instrument  the  husband- 
man plows  a  gutter  about  three  inches  deep  and  five  inches  broad  at 
the  top,  and  his  work,  excepting  sowing  and  covering,  is  done.  When  the 
wheat  is  cut  and  housed  and  stacked  (and  this  is  done  in  April  and  May)  it 
is  spread  upon  an  adobe  floor,  siirrounded  by  a  wall  of  adobe  six  feet  high, 
and  upon  this  are  turned  in  a  number  of  wild  horses  from  the  range.  Young 
boys  keep  them  running  around  until  the  grain  is  trodden  out,  and  then  the 
mass  is  thrown  upon  another  floor  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  wall.  Here 


TEAVELS,    MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         177 

it  ia  cast  up  with  wooden  paddles  into  the  air,  and  the  grain  separated  from 
the  straw  and  chaff  by  the  wind. 

Many  interesting  sights  meet  the  eye  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  but  none  are 
more  pleasing  than  that  of  the  dancing  girls,  who  are  frequently  seen  in  ihe 
paved  courtyards,  which  are  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  hotels  and 
public  buildings.  The  music  provided  is  that  of  a  sort  of  fife,  and  the  man  who 
plays  it  is  wonderful  to  behold,  in  his  foreign  finery.  An  immense  yellow 
sombrero  shades  his  face.  His  hair  hangs  in  long  black  ringlets  over  his 
blue  embroidered  jacket.  Under  his  jacket  a  sash  of  brilliant  red  is  tied, 
and  hangs  in  heavy  folds  almost  to  his  feet.  He  has  red  ribbons  fastened 
about  the  tight  yellow  stockings,  and  his  slippers  have  been  red.  Altogether 
he  looks  as  if  he  might  have  stepped  out  of  a  picture  by  Velasquez.  But  so 
do  the  maids,  with  their  short  dresses,  bright  aprons,  sashes  and  head- 
gear, their  laughing  black 
eyes,  their  cheeks  with  the 
scarlet  bloom,  their  braids 
of  hair. 

The  moral  condition  of 
the  lower  classes  is  fright- 
fully degraded.  Insecurity 
of  life  and  property,  a 
chronic  state  of  revolution, 
and  gambling  and  drunken- 
ness have  caused  such  a 
degeneration  of  the  masses, 
that  an  American  writer  has 
recently  declared,  that  the 
only  hope  of  the  regenera- 
tion  and  civilization  of 
Mexico,  is  in  the  absolute 
extinction  of  fully  seven  of 
her  eight  millions  of  inhabi- 
tants. Among  the  higher 
classes  the  prospect  is  hard- 
ly more  pleasing.  Empty 
formalities,  the  haughtiness  of  the  old  Spanish  Grandees,  and  a  show  of 
nobility  are  joined  to  intellectual  insignificance,  callousness  of  feeling,  and  a 
pride  of  race  simply  contemptible. 

A  Country  Without  Women. — There  is  only  one  territory  of  any 
size,  and  never  has  been  but  one,  occupied  by  any  considerable  population, 
from  which  woman  is  absolutely  excluded.  Yet,  such  a  place  exists  to-day, 
and  has  existed  for  centuries.  As  far  back  as  history  reaches,  to  all  females 
it  has  been  forbidden  ground.  This  bachelor's  Arcadia  is  situated  on  a  bold 
plateau  between  the  old  peninsula  of  Acte,  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago,  and 
the  main  land.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  cultivated  fields  and  extensive  wood- 
lands, dwells  a  monastic  confederation  of  Greek  Christians,  with  twenty- 
three  convents,  and  numbering  more  than  seven  thousand  souls,  and  not  one 
of  the  monasteries  dates  from  a  later  time  than  the  twelfth  century.  A 
few  soldiers  guard  the  borders  of  this  anti-female  land,  and  no  woman  ia 
allowed  to  cross  the  frontier.  Nor  is  this  all;  the  rule  is  extended  to  every 
female  creature,  and  from  time  immemorial  no  cow,  mare,  hen,  duck  or 
goose  has  been  permitted  to  make  acquaintance  with  this  territory. 


DANCING  GIBLS  OF  MEXICO. 


178        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

South  America — The  land  of  the  loftiest  mountains,  largest  rivers, 
greatest  number  of  volcanoes,  most  extensive  plains,  richest  mines  of 
precious  metals  and  subhmest  natural  scenery  on  the  globe  is  also  noted  for 
the  greatest  diversity  hi  native  life,  composed  of  whites,  Indians,  negroes 
and  mixed  races;  their  habits  and  occupations  are  as  varied  as  their  shades 
of  color  and  localities.  In  New  Granada  and  Ecuador  we  find  rope  bridges 
and  silleros  carrying  travelers  hi  chairs  on  their  backs;  in  Peru  we  see  great 
cavernous  silver  mines;  in  Bolivia  we  view  long  trains  of  mules  and  llamas 
carrying  produce  over  the  mountains;  in  Buenos  Ayres  and  Paragiiay  exist 
those  vast  grassy  plains  or  pampas,  a  thousand  miles  in  extent,  without  a 
tree,  on  which  millions  of  horses  and  cattle  feed,  and  where  the  Ganchos  or 
white  inhabitants  live  in  the  saddle  and  chase  the  cattle  with  lassos  for 
their  agreeable  occupation.  Aa  we  go  farther  south  civilization  recedes, 


NATIVES  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

until  in  Patagonia  and  Terra  del  Fuego  it  lapses  into  barbarism.  Among 
the  huge  savages  of  Patagonia,  who  are  the  most  gigantic  men  on  the  earth, 
there  are  some  tribes  who  possess  cannibals,  while  others  enjoy  in  their 
peculiar  life  the  blessings  of  a  plurality  of  wives. 

One  of  our  illustrations  represents  a  Patagonian  with  his  wives  preparing 
a  meal,  which  though  very  frugal,  will  bo  none  the  less  relished.  During 
the  recent  war  between  Chili  and  Peru  some  of  these  tribes,  considering 
that  they  owed  more  allegiance  to  Chili  than  to  the  other  belligerent,  offered 
their  services,  but  owing  to  their  savage  mode  of  warfare  the  Chilian  gov- 
ernment declined  to  accept,  fearing  that  once  on  the  battlefield  they  could 
not  be  controlled. 

Our  next  scene  represents  a  pleasanter  phase  of  life  and  pleasure;  a  fair 
fruit  dealer  of  Eio  de  Janeiro  surroundnd  by  her  trays  and  baskets  of 
tropical  fruits,  And  what  do  the  other  fair  sieters  of  Buenos  Ayres  do?  you 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.          179 

may  ask.  One  glance  through  the  latticed  balconies  shows  well  how  they 
spend  their  time:  lounging  in  their  hammocks  as  if  moulded  to  them,  the 
languid  and  indolent  senorita  lies  enjoying  her  siesta,  or  awake  puffing  the 
thin  blue  curling  smoke  from  her  cigarette  and  thinking  of  her  conquest  at 
the  last  fiesta.  Even  our  contented  looking  fruit  dealer  finds  time  and 
means  to  enjoy  her  cigarette,  as  free  from  care  apparently  as  the  haughty 
dame  who  swings  in  her  hammock. 

Our  next  illustration  represents  primitive  life  on  the  coast  of  Ecuador, 
where  even  in  Guayaquil,  the  principal  harbor,  one  sees  the  curiously  built 
bamboo  houses  with  straw  thatched  roof,  which  abound  in  that  sandy  coun- 


FBUIT  DEALEB  OF  BIO  DE  JANEEBO. 

try.    Thus  we  see  that  even  yet  many  of  the  natives  of  South  America  are 
scarcely  in  advance  of  Africa  in  civilization. 

Modest  young  men  might  find  the  mode  of  salutation  employed  by  the 
fair  senoritas  of  Peru  somewhat  disconcerting,  though  not  unpleasant.  The 
mistress  of  the  house  enters  the  reception-room  smoking  a  cigarette,  wear- 
ing a  black  silk  skirt  and  a  red  or  blue  sacque,  and  with  her  magnificent 
hair  braided  down  her  back  in  two  plaits  that  almost  sweep  the  floor.  Ad- 
vancing to  you  she  removes  her  cigar,  spits  upon  the  carpet,  although  it 
may  be  white  velvet  tapestry,  and  folds  yon  in  both  arms  to  her  matronly 
bosom,  pushing  your  head  gently  down  upon  her  shoulder,  and  patting  you 
softly  on  your  back.  This  singular  proceeding  answers  to  our  handshaking. 
All  classes  meet  and  embrace.  Young  men  and  old  women,  old  men  and 


180       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


young  ladies,  and  even  children,  all  unite  in  this  parting  embrace,  and 
rarely  kiss.  If  the  daughters  delay  coming  into  the  room,  the  mother  opens 
the  piano  and  plays  you  some  national  dances,  sad,  yet  brilliant,  in  a  plain- 
tive minor  key.  Or  she  claps  her  hands,  and  a  native  brings  in  a  bottle  of 
wine  and  fruits  of  various  kinds,  and  you  are  expected  to  partake,  if  ever  so 
little.  The  daughters  never  keep  you  waiting  long,  if  they  are  not  at  mass 
or  shopping;  and,  if  at  home,  never  excuse  themselves.  They  wear  white 
wrappers,  trimmed  simply  with  native  lace,  and  the  heavy  braids  of  hair  like 
the  mother's.  Conversing  with  them,  you  soon  ascertain  the  extent  of  their 
acquirements — a  little  French  and  knowledge  of  the  geography  and  history 

of  Peru.  They  sel- 
dom know  more  than 
to  read  and  write 
Spanish,  and  know 
nothing  else,  and 
care  to  know  nothing 
else,  but  about  Peru. 
They  can  all  sing  and 
dance,  and  are  very 
charming  in  appear- 
ance; but  you  can  see 
that  they  are  illit- 
erate and  ignorant; 
that  though  the  dia- 
monds glisten  upon 
small,  perfectly- 
formed,  brown 
hands,  the  hands  are 
not  only  dingy,  but 
dirty;  that  the  nails 
Are  not  clean;  and 
that  the  tiny  feet, 
peeping  from  the 
trailing  white  wrap- 
per, often  has  either 
no  stocking  or  a  very 
dirty  one,  and  almost 
always  the  slippers 
are  torn  and  slip- 
shod. 

A  French  naval 
surgeon  has  lately 
been  exploring  the 


HOUSE  ON  THE  COAST  OF  ECUADOR,   SOUTH  AMERICA. 


northern  parts  of  South  America,  more  especially  in  the  valley  of  the 
Oronoco  and  its  affluents.  Among  other  facts  of  observation,  he  states  that 
the  Guaraunos,  at  the  delta  of  that  river,  take  refuge  in  the  trees  when  the 
delta  is  inundated.  There  they  make  a  sort  of  dwelling  with  branches  and 
clay.  The  women  light  on  a  small  piece  of  floor  the  fire  needed  for  cook- 
ing, and  the  traveler  on  the  river  by  night  often  sees  with  surprise  long  rows 
of  flames  at  a  considerable  height  in  the  air.  The  Guaraunos  dispose  of 
their  dead  by  hanging  them  in  hammocks  in  the  tops  of  trees.  In  the  course 
of  Ms  travels,  he  met  with  earth-eating  tribes.  The  clay,  which  often  serves 
for  their  food  whole  months,  seems  to  be  a  mixture  of  oxide  of  iron  and  some 


TRAVELS, 


AND   CV8TOMS,   ETC. 


181 


organic  substances.  They  have  recourse  to  it  more  especially  in  times  of 
scarcity;  but,  strange  to  Bay,  there  are  eager  gourmands  for  the  substance, 
individuals  in  whom  the  depraved  taste  is  so  pronounced  that  they  may  be 
eeen  tearing  pieces  of  ferruginous  clay  from  huts  made  of  it,  and  putting 
them  hi  their  mouths. 

Slioslione  Courtship.  —  Courtship  among  the  Shoshone  tribe  of  Indi- 
ans is  not  so  elaborate  an  affair  as  among  more  civilized  people.  In  the 
first  place  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  young  squaws  are  more  fleet 
of  foot  than  the  bucks.  Now,  when  a  buck  fancies  a  squaw,  he  provides 
himself  with  a  lariat,  as  he  would  if  he  intended  to  lasso  an  animal.  When 


A  PIUTE  LODGE. 

she  sees  her  admirer  approaching  she  behaves,  after  her  fashion,  in  th« 
manner  of  other  young  ladies.  She  runs,  and  the  buck  runs  after  her.  If 
she  does  not  wish  to  be  caught  she  quickens  her  pace,  and  is  soon  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  rope;  if,  on  the  contrary,  she  does  not  object,  the  noose 
slips  easily  over  her  head,  and  the  prize  is  won. 

The  Plate  Indians  of  Nevada. — There  aie  between  four  and  five 
thousand  Indians  in  Nevada,  consisting  of  Shoshones  and  Piutes,  the  former 
occupying  the  eastern  and  central  parts  of  the  State,  and  the  latter  the 
western.  The  Piutes  are  a  branch  of  the  Shoshone  tribe,  and  formerly  both 
were  governed  by  one  great  chief.  The  Piutes  are  not  hostile  to  the  whites, 
although  in  times  past  there  have  been  fierce  battles  between  them.  th« 


182       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

last  one  taking  place  at  Pyramid  Lake.  The  Piutes  were  formerly  a  wild, 
strong,  brave  people,  so  famous  as  travelers  that  it  is  believed  they  origi- 
nally came  from  Peru,  while  they  now  idle  about  the  outskirts  of  white  set- 
tlements. The  name  Piute  was  derived  from  their  settlement  near  the  lakes 
of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  and  is  properly  Pah-TJte  or  Water-lite.  In  the  larger 
towns  along  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierras,  the  Piutes  are  more  than  half 
civilized,  and  as  far  as  possible  imitate  the  fashion  of  the  white  in  dress,  the 
women  wearing  showy  cotton  gowns,  and  the  men  brilliantly-colored  shirts, 
trousers  and  hats.  The  wigwams  are  set  a  few  yards  apart,  and  resemble 
dilapidated  circular  tents.  As  a  stranger  approaches,  the  red  proprietor 
comes  forward  to  meet  him  with  a  pleasant  smile  and  at  a  lazy  pace,  greet- 


BOME  PIUTE  BEAUX. 

ing  him  with  the  usual  "  How  ?  "  which  is  the  Indian  abbreviation  of  "  How 
do  you  do  ?  "  We  illustrate  a  lodge  of  the  Piutes,  and  likewise  a  number  of 
lovers  sitting  upon  a  log  awaiting  the  arrival  of  their  sweethearts.  This  is 
characteristic  of  the  courtship  of  the  Piutes. 

The  Sun  Dance  of  the  Sioux. — The  dances  of  the  Sioux  Indians 
are  all  forms  of  worship,  the  three  principal  among  them  being  the  war,  the 
medicine,  and  the  great  sun  dance.  When  a  young  brave  is  anxious  for  dis- 
tinction in  his  tribe  he  attempts  to  signalize  himself  in  the  atrocities  of  the 
great  sun  dance.  It  lasts  three  days,  commencing  at  sundown,  and  the  par- 
ticipants fast  during  the  entire  period.  It  is  intended  to  gain  the  favor  of 
the  Great  Spirit  who  dwells  in  the  sun,  and  as  the  sun  rises  on  the  com- 
mencement of  the  dance,  the  braves  salute  it  in  chorus  with  their  knives 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,   ETC.          183 

bare.  Long  ropes  of  raw  hide  are  ready,  dangling  from  a  sapling,  and,  as 
the  sun  comes  above  the  horizon,  each  Indian  seizes  a  rope,  puts  two  gashes 
an  inch  deep  and  about  the  same  distance  apart  in  his  back  or  side,  runs 
Lis  knife  through  the  flesh  between  them,  and  withdrawing  it  passes  the 
raw  hide  rope  through  the  wound  and  ties  it,  dancing  and  throwing  his 
weight  on  the  rope  for  hours  at  a  time  until  the  flesh  is  torn  loose  and  he 
falls  exhausted  to  the  ground.  If  the  flesh  holds  too  long  a  friend  will  come 
and  give  him  a  push.  When  he  has  fallen  his  comrades  gather  round  him 
and  say  that  he  will 
be  a  great  chief. 

The  Egyptians. 
— The  women  of 
Egypt  are  not  al- 
lowed to  go  out  of 
doors  as  women  in 
other  countries  are, 
and  many  of  them 
never  get  beyond  the 
the  walls  of  their 
houses.  The  cows 
sleep  in  the  same  hut 
with  the  people. 
These  huts  are  made 
of  mud,  without  win- 
dows, and  the  doors 
so  small  that  the 
wonder  is  how  the 
people  get  in.  They 
do  not  wash  their  ba- 
bies till  they  are  a 
year  old,  because  it  is 
considered  unlucky 
to  do  so.  They  rarely 
comb  their  hair  from 
month  to  month. 
Their  chief  meal  is 
at  sunset;  the  rest  of 
the  time  they  eat  at  a 
piece  of  bread  when 
they  are  hungry. 
They  never  use 
plates,  or  knives,  or 
forks.  All  sit  around  the  table  on  the  floor.  Bread  is  their  daily  food,  and 
each  family  makes  for  itself,  as  it  is  a  kind  of  disgrace  to  buy  "  street 
bread."  The  women  clean  the  corn  and  carry  it  on  their  heads  to  mill. 
It  is  made  into  thin,  small  cakes,  stuck  against  the  sides  of  an  oven,  and 
baked  in  less  than  a  minute.  A  hundred  loaves  are  not  too  many  for  a  family 
of  four  in  a  week.  Travelers  are  usually  expected  to  eat  three  loaves 
apiece.  They  make  butter  in  a  strange  way.  A  goatskin  half  filled  with 
milk  ia  hung  on  a  peg,  and  then  a  woman  jerks  it  to  and  fro  till  the  butter 
comes.  Then  she  drains  it,  but  never  washes  or  salts  it.  Their  favorite  dish 
is  rice  cooked  with  this  butter. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  WOMAN  CHURNING. 


184      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSBFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


In  journeying  from  Egypt  across  Arabia,  water  is  commonly  conveyed  in 
goat  skins.  Ox  hides  are  often  converted  into  sacks.  A  pair  of  these  is  a 
camel's  load,  and  two  answer  for  four  persons  as  many  days.  The  sakkieha 
or  wells  used  for  irrigating  the  date-palm  trees,  consist  of  two  wheels,  the 
one  Bet  vertically  to  the  river  and  slung  with  a  chain  of  pots,  the  other  a 

horizontal  cog, 
turned  by  a  cam- 
el or  a  buffalo. 


Siam.—  After 
all  that  has  been 
written  about 
Siam  and  the  Si- 
amese, there  re- 
mains a  great 
deal  of  valuable 
information  still 
to  be  acquired. 
The  temples, 
palaces,  and 
monuments  of 
Siam  seem  to 
bear  the  impress 
of  almost  every 
ancientandmod- 
ern  civilization, 
Egyptian,  Indi- 
an, Persian, 
Mongolian,  and 
European.  And 
yet,  through  all 
thesevarieties  of 
style,  they  have 
strongly  marked 
characteristics 
of  theirown.  The 
government  of 
Siam  is  the  most 
singular  in  the 
world.  It  con- 
sists of  a  House 
of  Lords,  or  Sen- 
abodi,  and  a  San 
Tuang,  or  secret 

council  of  twelve  of  the  most  powerful  princes  in  the  land,  and  a  first  and  a 
second  king.  The  second  king  has  command  of  the  army,  and  a  palace  and 
court  of  his  own.  By  his  high  position  he  is  exempt  from  the  customary 
prostration  before  the  first  king,  whom  he  may  salute  by  simply  raising  his 
hands  and  joining  them  above  his  head.  The  rule  of  the  king  is  absolute.  He 
Bite  at  the  gates  of  the  palace  to  receive  the  petitions  of  his  people.  His  per- 
son is  sacred.  The  highest,  not  less  than  the  lowest  of  his  subjects,  approach 
him  on  all  fours,  crawling  in  a  most  abject  posture.  No  person  is  allowed 
to  stand  erect  in  his  presence.  All  the  bridges  in  Siam  are  so  constructed 


AN  EGYPTIAN  WELL. 


TRAVELS,  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS,  ETC. 


APPROACHING  THE  KINO  IN  SIAM. 


that  he  may  not  pass  under  anything  on  which  human  feet  have  trod.  The 
king  is  notably  temperate  in  his  diet;  boiled  rice  and  salt  fish  are  his  favor- 
ite dishes.  It  id  curious 
to  see  him  eating  boiled 
rice  with  gold  chop-sticks. 
The  bowl  containing  rice 
is  put  on  a  stand  a  little 
above  the  level  of  the 
mouth;  then  the  two 
sticks,  one  in  each  hand, 
stir  up  the  rice,  and  with 
great  dexterity  cause  it 
to  flow  in  a  continuous 
stream  into  the  open 
mouth  below . 

The    Abyssinians. 

—  The    Abyssinians,    in 

features   and    form,    are 

a  handsome  people.  They 

are  between  five  and  six 

feet  in  height.    Erect  and 

slender,  they  are  not  de- 

voidof  muscular  strength, 

nor  of  that  symmetrical 

roundness  which  so  much  contributes  to  the  beauty  of  the  human  frame. 

The  costume  of  the  Abyssinian  is  exceedingly  simple.    Men  of  all  ranks, 

from  the  king  to  the  beggar,  wear  a  shama,  or  loose  dress  of  white  cotton, 

*rhich,  in  graceful  folds,  is  thrown  over  the  shoulders  so  as  to  leave  the 

hands  and  arms  free  to  carry 
spear  and  buckler.  The  soft- 
ness of  the  web,  and  the  depth 
of  the  red  border  round  the 
bottom  of  this  convenient  garb, 
indicates  the  social  position  of 
the  wearer,  and  this  is  so  mi- 
nutely defined,  that  any  one 
who  should  presume  to  ape  his 
betters  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, obtain  a  lesson  or  two, 
on  dress  from  the  imperial 
giraffe-holder.  Beneath  the 
shama  the  aristocrat  dons  his 
silken,  damask,  or  velvet  ka- 
mees;  but  this  is  a  privilege 
only  granted,  to  a  few  mag- 
nates, and  those  whom  the 
king  delights  to  honor.  Trou- 
sers of  the  same  material  as 
the  shama  are  worn  by  all,  and 

also  the  cotton  waistcloth,  which  is  so  long  that  when  wound  round  the 

waist,  it  serves  the  purpose  of  armor,  in  warding  off  blows,  or  in  protecting 

from  the  thrust  of  sword  or  lance.    When  engaged  in  battle,  the  shama  is 


EATING  BICE  IN  SIAM. 


186      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


THE   ABYSSINIANS. 


exchanged  for  the  dino — a  mere  piece  of  akin,  sometimes  of  the  lion  or  leop- 
ard, but  more  commonly  of  the  sheep. 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         181 

The  Herdsman  of  the  Alps. — The  herdsman  of  the  Alps  leads  a 
life  peculiar  to  his  race  and  land.  The  pastures  whereon  his  cattle  graze 
have  no  resemblance  to  the  broad  prairies  of  our  own  laud,  or  to  the  almost 
boundless  pampas  and  sheep-walks  of  South  America  and  Australia.  He 
has  no  use  for  hordes  or 
weapons  of  defence;  formida- 
ble beasts  of  prey  have  long 
since  disappeared  before 
the  prowess  of  the  hardy  Al- 
pine hunter,  and  the  narrow 
valleys,  precipitous  mountain 
paths,  and  elevated  plateaus 
hemmed  by  almost  unfathom- 
able gorges,  afford  too  pre- 
carious a  footing  for  the  horse. 
Diiring  the  summer  the  moun- 
tains yield  plentiful  pastur- 
age, but  in  spring  it  does  not 
come  at  the  same  time  on  all 
the  pasture  lands.  The  grass 
on  the  lower  valleys  and 
slopes  starts  first;  then  the 
herdsman  leads  out  his  cat- 
tle, as  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration shows,  and  they  cross 
the  streams  by  means  of  rude 
bridges,  sniffing,  with  keen 
enjoyment,  the  mountain  air 
from  the  summits  of  rocks, 
and  reposing  at  ease  when 
their  appetites  are  satisfied  on 
the  luxuriant  grass.  As  the 
summer  advances  the  higher 
pastures  are  approached, 
and  in  July  and  August  the 
herd  feeds  on  slopes  that 
are  just  below  the  eternal 
snows.  Autumn  comes  and 
the  herdsman  turns  home- 
ward, and  when  the  winter 
storms  are  reveling  above, 
the  cattle  are  grazing  again 
in  the  lower  valleys.  The 
herdsman  loves  his  moun- 
tain life  as  the  sailor  loves 
the  sea.  Setting  forth  in 
the  spring,  he  carries  on 
his  broad  shoulders  his  house- 
hold furniture,  holding  in  one  hand  the  milk  pail,  and  grasping  in  the 
other  the  iron-pointed  alpenstock.  A  large  basket  on  his  back  contains  hia 
milk  strainer,  some  straw,  a  milking  stool,  a  cheese  mold,  the  stand  on 
which  the  cheeses  are  placed  to  drain,  and  the  kettle  in  which  the  curd  is 
made.  Seldom,  until  winter,  can  he  revisit  the  chalet  where  his  family  lives, 


THE  HEHDSMAX  OF  THE  ALPS. 


i§8     cYOLoP^jbiA  oF  trsti&ffL 

and  as  he  ascends  the  rugged  mountain  path  he  casts  an  affectionate,  lin- 
gering glance  below. 

Life  in  Iceland.— Men  and  women,  masters  and  servants,  all  inhabit 
the  same  room,  while  cleanliness  is  not  much  attended  to;  but,  poor  as  they 
are,  and  accustomed  to  great  privations,  they  set  an  example  of  cheerful 
contentment.  The  beauty  of  the  young  girls  is  remarkable;  their  fair  hair 
falls  in  long  plaits,  partially  covered  by  a  black  cloth  coil,  daintily  worn  on 
one  side  of  the  head,  finished  at  the  top  with  a  tassel  of  colored  silk,  run 
through  a  silver  or  steel  buckle,  which  floats  on  the  shoulder.  It  reminds 
the  traveler  of  the  Greek  head  dress,  but  the  blue  eyes,  with  their  sweet, 
benevolent  expression,  soon  recall  to  their  minds  their  Danish  origin.  The 
dress  is  made  of  the  cloth  woven  in  the  country,  and  on  festive  days  the 
bodice  is  gaily  adorned  with  silver  braid  and  velvet,  while  the  belt  and 
sleeves  are  ornamented  with  silver  devices,  beautifully  chased,  and  often  of 

great  vah\e.  On  wet  and 
cold  days  the  bhawl  becomes 
a  useful  mantilla,  completely 
enveloping  the  head,  and 
defending  the  wearer  from 
the  effects  of  the  frequent 
storms. 

The    Lapp   and    His 

Reindeer.— The  mountain 
Lapps  of  Norway  have 
learned  to  drink  coffee  and 
wear  stout  Norwegian  cloth, 
but  they  set  as  much  store 
by  the  reindeer  as  ever.  A 
poor  family  will  have  fifty 
and  upward  in  a  flock,  the 
middle  classes  300  to  700, 
and  the  richest  1,000  or 
more.  The  reindeer  is  as 

AN  ICELANDIC  LU>T.  much  beloved  by  the  Lapp 

as  his  pig  by  the  Irishman, 

and  the  reindeer  often  sleep  in  his  hut  in  much  the  same  fashion.  The  Lapp 
will  whisper  to  his  reindeer  when  harnessing  him  to  his  sleigh,  and  will  tell 
him  where  he  is  to  go,  and  declares  he  understands  him.  The  reindeer  is 
much  like  a  stag,  only  smaller;  all  the  people,  animals  and  trees  in  Lapland 
are  very  diminutive,  the  men  are  mostly  under  five  feet  high,  and  the 
women  under  four  feet  nine  inches,  so  great  are  the  rigors  of  the  climate  in 
this  as  in  all  countries  under  the  Arctic  Circle;  and  the  cows,  sheep  and 
goats  are  small  in  proportion.  In  summer  the  reindeer  feed  upon  grass, 
and  give  excellent  milk;  in  the  winter  they  feed  upon  moss,  which  they 
scratch  up  under  great  depths  of  snow  with  marvelous  instinct.  When  win- 
ter draws  near  great  numbers  are  killed,  and  the  flesh  is  dried  and  smoked 
to  provide  food  when  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow,  and  but  few  birds, 
like  ptarmigan,  partridges  and  capercailzie,  are  met  with.  The  flesh  is  very 
nutritious,  and  after  a  course  of  grass  feeding  it  is  surprising  how  soon  the 
reindeer  become  fat  and  plump.  The  skin  makes  their  dresses  and  boots,  the 
sinews  their  thread  and  fishing  lines,  and  the  horns  their  domestic  utensils. 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.       189 

Mountain  Traveling  in  Spain.— To  all  lovers  of  natural  scenery 
there  is  a  peculiar  charm  in  mountain  traveling.  It  offers  a  wonderful  va- 
riety of  experiences,  and  though  often  fatiguing,  is  not  wearisome  because 
of  monotony.  The  modes  differ,  it  is  true.  In  these  latter  years  facilities 
of  all  kinds  are  rapidly  multiplied.  Locomotion  upon  mule  back  was  form- 


MOTJNTAIN   TRAVELING  IN  SPAIN. 

erly  the  sole  means  in  mountain  regions,  as  it  remains  to  this  day  in  many 
countries.  Our  engraving  spiritedly  illustrates  seme  of  its  felicities  in 
Spain,  where  the  spirit  of  Progress  is  as  yet  only  manifest  in  political  striv- 
ings after  Republicanism.  These  narrow  paths,  winding  around  giddy 
ledges,  where  a  misstep  would  send  you  a  thousand  feet  below,  are  pleas- 


190       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

anter  in  the  picture  than  in  reality.  And  the  lolling  in  ddcefar  niente  styl« 
upon  your  mule's  back,  guitar  in  hand,  idly  strumming  its  strings  while 
your  deft-footed  animal  picks  his  way  along,  is  rather  more  sentimental  and 
less  practical  than  even  things  Spanish  are  ordinarily  apt  to  be. 

A  Dinner  in  Palestine — The  Jews  generally  eat  their  dinner  before 
noon,  and  their  supper  after  sundown.  The  chief  meal  of  the  Jews  was  in 
the  evening;  of  the  Egyptians  it  was  at  noon.  The  early  Hebrews  sat  or 
squatted  round  a  low  table  upon  which  the  meal  was  served,  but  in  later 
tunes  couches  were  used  to  recline  upon  before  the  tables.  The  guests 
were  ranged  in  order  of  rank  side  by  side,  resting  upon  the  left  elbow,  the 
right  arm  being  free.  The  dishes,  as  they  are  to  this  day,  were  generally 
stews  of  rice,  beans,  and  burgal  (cracked  wheat),  with  soups  or  sauces. 
The  meats  were  so  cooked  that  when  served  they  fell  to  pieces.  Knives 

and  forks  were  not  used  at 
the  tables,  but  spoons,  and 
generally  thin  slices  of  bread, 
were  doubled  up  and  dipped 
into  the  dishes,  all  eating 
from  the  same  dish.  These 
pieces  of  bread  also  served 
the  purpose  of  napkins. 

Bagdad  Customs. — 
Among  the  more  wealthy,  tho 
husband  sleeps  on  a  raised 
bedstead  made  of  wicker 
work  called  doeshick.  It  has 
a  mattress  and  cushions  of 
silk  or  cotton,  and  is  covered 
by  a  thick  quilt,  but  is  with- 
out curtain  or  moequito-net. 
The  night-air  is  always  dry; 
toward  morning  there  usually 
springs  up  a  cool  breeze  that 
dies  away  soon  after  sunrise. 
The  wife  occupies  a  similar 
bed,  but  always  on  the 
ground— that  is,  without  a  bedstead,  and  always  at  a  respectable  distance 
from  her  husband.  The  children  are  scattered  about  on  mattresses,  and 
the  slaves  or  servants  sleep  on  mats,  but  all  within  sight  of  each  other.  In 
a  few  houses  there  are  low  parapets  dividing  off  the  sleeping  apartments, 
but  these  are  rare,  and  probably  occupied  by  Europeans.  In  retiring,  the 
natives  do  not  divest  themselves  of  the  clothing  worn  during  the  day  except 
to  lay  aside  tho  outer  robes.  After  rising,  the  husband  performs  his  de- 
votions, and  then  seats  himself  on  his  carpet,  where  his  wife  serves  him  with 
a  chibouk  and  coffee  with  her  own  hands,  retiring  at  a  respectable  distance 
to  wait  for  the  cup,  and  sometimes  with  hands  crossed,  and  even  kissing  his 
hand  on  receiving  the  cup  from  it — a  mark  of  respect  very  common  in  the 
East.  While  the  husband  is  lounging  on  the  carpet  or  cushions,  enjoying 
his  morning  pipe,  the  women  of  the  family  generally  pray,  going  through 
the  same  forms  and  prostrations  as  the  men;  but  the  children  under  twelve 
years  of  age  never  join  in  their  devotions. 


A  DINNER  IN  PALESTINE. 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC'.         191 

How  they  Dance  in  Italy. — In  Italy,  where  the  country  men  and  wo- 
men dance  together,  the  first  thing  they  do  is  to  toss  off  their  shoes,  if  they 
wear  any.  A  man  don't  go  up  to  a  woman  and  ask  her  if  she  will  dance,  but  he 
fixes  his  eye  on  her  from  a  distance  and  nods.  She  nods  in  return,  and  then 
both  kick  off  their  shoes  and  advance  towards  each  other  and  begin  to  dance. 
The  dance,  besides  an  incessant  up  and  down  of  steps,  represents  also  quite 
a  little  love  drama  in  gestures,  and  the  success  of  the  dance  depends  on  the 
cleverness  of  the  dancers  to  express  the  mimic  scene.  He  courts,  pleads,  be- 
seeches, runs  after  his  dancer,  tries  to  clasp  her  waist  and  kiss  her;  all  the 
time  he  is  dancing.  The  girl,  of  course,  denies,  laughs,  shakes  her  head 
and  escapes  her  partner,  till  at  last,  the  dance  finished,  she  rushes  to  her 
place  and  resumes  her  shoes. 

The  Greeks. — The  Greeks  belong  to  the  great  Indo-European  race, 
who  from  the  earliest  times  have  been  the  conquerors  and  civilizers  of  the 
world.  They  are  the  only  existing  representatives  of  the  ancient  world. 
They  have  maintained  posses- 
sion of  their  country,  their  lan- 
guage, and  their  social  organi- 
zation, against  physical  and 
moral  forces  which  have  swept 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  all 
their  early  contemporaries, 
friends  and  enemies.  Even  in 
dress  they  retain  the  steeple 
hat  and  tassel  at  the  end,  also 
the  gay  vest  and  baggy  trou- 
sers. 

A    Wedding    K,  a  c  e  .— 

Among  the  Huzarehs— a  people 
of  Asia — the  following  is  the 
way  weddings,  are  managed: 
The  suitors  of  the  maiden,  nine 
in  number,  appear  in  the  field, 
all  unarmed,  but  mounted  on 
the  best  horses  they  can  pro- 
cure; while  the  bride  herself,  on  a  beautiful  Turcoman  horse,  surrounded 
by  her  relations,  anxiously  surveys  the  group  of  lovers.  The  conditions  of 
the  bridal  race  are  these:  The  maiden  has  a  certain  start  given,  which  she 
avails  herself  of  to  gain  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  crowd  to  enable  her 
to  manage  her  steed  with  freedom,  so  as  to  assist  in  his  pursuit  the  suitor 
whom  she  prefers.  On  a  signal  from  the  father,  all  the  horsemen  gallop 
after  the  fair  one,  and  whichever  first  succeeds  in  encircling  her  waist  with 
his  arms,  no  matter  whether  disagreeable  or  to  her  choice,  is  entitled  to 
claim  her  as  his  wife.  After  the  usual  delays  incident  upon  such  interesting 
occasions,  the  maiden  quits  the  circle  of  her  relations,  and,  putting  her 
steed  in  a  hard  gallop,  darts  into  the  open  plain.  When  satisfied  with  her 
position,  she  turns  round  to  the  impatient  youths  and  stretches  out  her 
arms  towards  them,  as  if  to  woo  their  approach.  This  is  the  moment  for 
giving  the  signal  to  commence  the  chase,  and  each  of  the  impatient  youths, 
dashing  his  pointed  heels  into  his  courser's  sides,  darts  like  the  unhooded 
bawk  in  pureuit  cf  the  fugitive  dove. 


192        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  race-course  is  generally  extensive — say  twelve  miles  long  and  three 
in  width  — and  as  the  horsemen  speed  across  the  plain,  the  favored  lover 
becomes  soon  apparent  by  the  efforts  of  the  maiden  to  avoid  all  others  who 
might  approach  her. 

Wedding's  in  Borneo. — On  the  wedding-day  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom are  brought  from  opposite  ends  of  the  village  to  the  spot  where  the 
ceremony  is  to  be  performed.  They  are  made  to  sit  on  two  bars  of  iron, 


MAEKIAGE  CEREMONY  IN  BORNEO. 


that  blessings  as  lasting  and  health  as  vigorous  may  attend  the  pair.  A 
cigar  and  betal-leaf,  prepared  with  the  areca-nut,  are  next  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom.  One  of  the  priests  then  waves  two 
fowls  over  the  heads  of  the  couple,  and  in  a  long  address  to  the  Supreme 
Being  calls  down  blessings  upon  the  pair,  and  implores  that  peace  and 
aappiness  may  attend  the  union.-  After  the  heads  of  the  affianced  have 
been  knocked  against  each  other  three  or  four  times,  the  bridegroom  puts 
the  prepared  siri-leaf  and  cigar  into  the  mouth  of  the  bride,  while  she  does 
the  same  to  him,  whom  she  thus  acknowledges  as  her  husband. 


TRAVELS,    MANNEES  AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         193 

Salutations. — Arabs  of  distinction  kis»  each  other's  cheeks  and  their 
own  hands,  and  exclaim,  "  God  grant  thce  his  favor  and  send  thy  family 
health."  Women  and  children  kiss  the  beards  of  their  husbands  and  fathers. 

Burmese  rub  their  noses  on  each  other's  cheeks  and  say,  "  Give  me  a 
smell !" 

Chinese  ask  of  equals,  "  Have  you  eaten  your  rice  ?  "  "  Is  your  stomach 
in  order  ?  "  The  response  is,  "  Thanks  to  your  abundant  felicity." 

In  some  parts  of  Germany,  gentlemen  invariably  kiss  the  hands  of  their 
lady  acquaintances  when  they  meet,  and  gentlemen  kiss  each  other  on  the 
cheek. 

Hollanders,  with  their  proverbial  love  of  good  living,  salute  their  friends 
by  asking,  "Have  you  had  a  good  dinner?" 

Italians  kiss  the  hands  of  ladies  to  whom  they  are  related,  asking,  "  How 
does  she  stand  ?  " 

Japanese  remove  their  sandals  when  they  meet  a  superior,  exclaiming, 
"  Hurt  me  notl " 

Laplanders,  when  they  meet  on  the  ice,  press  their  noses  firmly  together. 

Mohammedans  say,  "  Peace  be  with  you;  "  to  which  the  reply  is,  "  On 
you  be  peace;  "  to  which  is  added,  "  and  the  mercy  and  blessings  of  God." 

Manillas  bend  their  bodies,  place  their  hands  upon  their  cheeks,  raise 
one  leg,  and  bend  the  knee. 

Moors  ride  at  lull  speed  toward  a  stranger,  suddenly  stop,  and  then  fire 
a  pistol  over  his  head. 

Persians  salute  by  crossing  necks,  and  laying  cheek  to  cheek,  with  the 
extravagant  greeting,  "  Is  thy  exalted  high  condition  good?  "  and  "May  thy 
shadow  never  be  less." 

The  negro  kings  on  the  African  coasts  salute  each  other  by  snapping  the 
middle  finger  three  times. 

In  Otaheite  they  rub  noses,  a  custom  common  with  many  savages. 

The  inhabitants  of  Carmine,  when  they  show  particular  attachment,  open 
a  vein  and  present  their  blood  to  their  friend  to  drink. 

Philippine  Islanders  take  a  person's  hand  or  foot  and  rub  it  over  their 
faces. 

In  the  Straits  of  the  Sound  they  raise  the  left  foot  of  the  person  addressed, 
and  pass  it  over  the  right  leg  and  then  to  the  face. 

The  usual  words  of  salutation  in  Cairo  are,  "How  do  you  sweat?  "  an 
absence  of  perspiration  being,  in  that  climate,  an  indication  of  fever. 

Customs  of  the  Russians. — Eussian  courting,  among  the  middle 
classes,  is  peculiar.  The  first  Whitsunday  after  a  young  girl  is  acknowledged 
by  her  mother  to  be  of  marriageable  years,  she  is  taken  to  the  Petersburg 
summer  garden  to  join  m  the  "  bridal  promenade."  This  consists  of  the 
daughters  of  the  Russian  tradesmen  walking  in  procession,  followed  by  their 
parents.  Up  and  down  they  go,  pretending  to  chat  with  each  other  and 
to  take  no  notice  of  the  young  men — the  tradesmen's  sons,  dressed  in  their 
best  clothes — who  walk  in  another  procession  on  the  other  side.  However, 
every  now  and  then  some  young  fellow  slips  out  of  his  proper  rank  and  adds 
himself  to  the  line  of  girls  on  the  other  side,  speaking  to  one  particularly. 
The  parents  of  the  girl  join  in  the  conversation  in  a  few  moments,  and  soon 
they  leave  the  promenade  and  are  joined  by  the  parents  of  the  young  man. 
Generally  the  old  folks  have  talked  it  over  before,  but  on  this  occasion 
every  one  pretends  to  be  surprised.  On  the  next  day  a  female  confidante 
calls  on  the  girl's  parents  and  asks  her  hand.  This  granted,  all  the  relations 


194       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

•n  both  sides  meet  and  argue  about  the  portion  to  be  given  with  the  girl, 
If  this  is  not  satisfactory  all  is  at  an  end;  if  it  is  what  is  expected  the  be- 
trothal takes  place.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  kneel  down  upon  a  great 
fur  mat,  and  the  bride  takes  a  ring  from  her  finger  and  gives  it  to  the  bride- 
groom, who  returns  the  gift  by  another.  The  bride's  mother  meanwhile 
crumbles  a  piece  of  bread  over  her  daughter's  head,  and  her  father  holds 
the  image  of  his  daughter's  patron  saint  over  his  future  son-in-law's  well 
bru»hed  locks.  As  they  arise  the  bridemaids  sing  a  wedding  song.  The 
jueste  each  bring  forward  a  present  of  some  sort.  Wine  is  handed  about, 
and  some  one  says  it  is  bitter  and  needs  sweetening.  Upon  this  the  bride- 
groom kisses  the  bride — the  sweetness  being  supposed  to  be  provided  by 
this  kiss — salutes  the  company  and  takes  his  leave.  Courting  tune  has  now 
boy un.  Every  evening  the  lover  comes  to  his  lady's  home  with  a  present, 
which  is  always  something  good  to  eat — generally  cakes  or  sugar  plums. 
H«  makes  love  under  rather  awkward  circumstances,  for  the  bridemaids  sit 
about  the  betrothed  pair  in  a  circle,  singing  songs  descriptive  of  their  happi- 
ness. The  last  evening  of  the  courtship  is  enlivened  by  the  presentation  of 
the  gifts  of  the  bridegroom,  which  must  include  brushes,  combs,  soap  and 
perfumery.  On  receiving  these,  the  bridemaids  instantly  carry  the  bride 
away  and  wash  her,  dress  her  hair  and  perfume  her  pocket  handkerchief. 
Thus  touched  up  she  returns  to  the  company,  and  the  bride's  father  gives 
his  future  son-in-law  the  marriage  portion,  which  he  takes  home  with  him  in 
a  neat  bag.  The  next  morning  he  returns  for  the  lady  herself.  She  receives 
him  with  her  hair  unbraided  and  flowing  down  her  back.  They  are  married 
by  the  ceremonies  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  the  old  folks  never  go  to  the 
wedding  dinner.  Those  eternal  bridemaids,  whom  they  must  hate  by  this 
time,  are  there,  however,  still  on  duty,  and  the  evening  closes  by  the  bride 
kneeling  down  and  pulling  off  her  husband's  boots,  to  prove  her  intention 
to  be  an  obedient  and  submissive  wife. 

The  chief  peasant  in  a  Russian  village  sometimes  has  more  power  than 
any  man  in  the  empire  excepting  the  Czar.  He  has  the  power,  for  instance, 
of  ordering  a  culprit  to  be  flogged — a  right  which  is  denied  by  law  to  any 
otker  public  functionary  or  citizen  in  the  empire.  Further,  a  majority  of 
the  peasants  in  a  commune  can  sentence  one  of  their  number  to  be  beaten 
with  sticks,  and  there  is  no  appeal  against  the  sentence.  It  is  true  that 
women  may  no  longer  be  flogged,  and  that  the  maximum  number  of  blows 
which  may  be  inflicted  on  a  man  is  twenty,  while  formerly  men  were  some- 
times beaten  to  death  by  order  of  the  commune;  but  the  commune  can  still 
sentence  a  man  to  banishment  to  Siberia  for  life.  This  sentence  has  been 
passed  for  such  petty  offences  as  stealing  a  handkerchief  or  a  little  honey, 
or  opening  a  brandy-shop  without  the  permission  of  the  commune. 

When  a  merchant  gives  a  dinner,  says  the  author  of "  Bussia  and  the 
Bussians,"  he  and  his  wife  stand  behind  the  chairs  of  the  guests,  and  wait 
upon  them,  receiving  the  dishes  from  the  servants  and  placing  them  upon 
the  table.  Every  time  one  of  the  guests  asks  for  more  sweetening  in  his 
wine,  the  merchant  must  march  round  the  table,  meet  his  wile,  and  salute 
her.  When  it  is  a  newly-married  couple  this  ceremony,  from  the  frequency 
of  its  being  required,  often  becomes  fatiguing  to  the  parties. 

Courting  in  Burmah. — Courting  in  Burmah  is  all  done  at  night. 
There  is,  in  fact,  a  special  time  for  it,  designated  in  popular  chronology  as 
"lads-Ko-courting-time."  This  is  a  kind  of  indefinite  period,  centering 
round  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Though  the  smitten  youth  may  not 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS,    ETV>          195 

philander  to  his  Dulcinea  alone,  he  is  spared  the  presence  of  the  old  people. 
It  is  not  etiquette  for  them  to  be  present.  Nevertheless,  though  this  is  per- 
fectly recognized,  it  is  not  always  agreeable  or  convenient  for  the  parents 
to  get  out  of  the  way  whenever  the  gallant  wants  to  do  some  sweethearting. 

Burmese  houses  are  all  on  piles,  and  never  more  than  one  story  high. 
As  a  general  rule,  there  are  only  two  or  three  rooms  altogether,  and  there 
are,  therefore,  but  two  courses  open  to  the  elders.  They  must  either  go  out 
and  wander  about  while  the  courting  goes  on,  or  they  must  go  to  bed.  The 
former  alternative  does  not  commend  itself  to  the  mother,  who  likes  to 
superintend  operations  for  herself  through  a  convenient  slit  in  the  bamboo 
walls,  and  going  off  to  bed,  as  it  were,  at  word  of  command  is  only  compati- 
ble with  a  most  mild  and  yielding  disposition  in  the  father.  Consequently, 
when  the  girl  is  arrayed  for  conquest — flowers  twined  in  her  hair,  fragrant 
cosmetics  on  her  cheek  and  neck,  and  her  finger  nails  delicately  tinted — it 
is  not  always  possible  to  summon  the  ardent  youth  forthwith.  He  is  out- 
side, dressed  in  his  smartest,  and  with  a  couple  of  companions  bent  possibly 
on  the  same  errand  as  himself;  but  he  is  obliged  to  stay  there  till  he  gets 
the  signal  that  the  coast  is  clear,  and  that  he  may  come  up. 

Every  youth  has  his  own  private  signal,  by  means  of  which  he  announces 
to  his  lady  love  his  arrival  in  the  street.  This  is  almost  invariably  effected 
by  means  of  a  fiddle  with  two  strings.  The  tone  of  the  instrument  is  not 
•weet.  and  the  performer  starts  by  the  light  of  nature.  He  saws  backward 
and  forward  diligently,  and  keeps  a  vigilant  look-out  for  the  wave  of  the 
handkerchief  or  the  jerk  of  the  lamp  which  will  announce  to  him  that  the 
coast  is  clear,  and  that  he  may  advance  and  pay  his  devotions.  Natural 
feelings,  as  well  as  a  sense  of  sheepishness,  prevent  him  from  executing 
his  notes  immediately  in  front  of  the  house.  He  therefore  stations  himself 
at  the  nearest  corner,  or  a  hundred  yards  or  so  down  the  street.  The  result 
of  this  is  that  he  has  to  fiddle  away  all  the  harder,  and  therefore  to  extend 
the  infliction  over  the  greatest  possible  area  of  the  quarter. 

When  at  last  the  happy  man  receives  his  summons;  there  is  peace  again 
for  a  time,  only,  however,  to  be  interrupted  in  something  less  than  an  hour, 
when,  the  sweet  nothings  having  all  been  said  as  best  they  can  be  before  an 
unsympathetic  audience,  the  young  men  issue  forth  to  go  to  some  other 
girl's  house,  where  another  of  the  party  is  interested.  And  so  it  goes  on 
until  it  is  too  late  to  make  further  rounds,  and  a  relieved  neighborhood 
sighs  with  delight  to  find  that  it  is  "lads-go-home-time,"  otherwise  "men's- 
feet-silent-time,"  and  that  there  will  be  no  more  fiddle-scraping  for  anothej' 
twenty-four  hours. 

Sandwich  Island  Houses.— The  houses  of  Honolulu  are  always 
open,  day  and  night,  as  the  temperature  is  so  warm  that  one  has  to  sleep 
out  of  doors.  They  are  built  mostly  of  wood,  though  many  of  the  oldest  and 
more  substantial  houses  are  built  of  coral  stone,  a  few  of  lava  stone,  and 
many  may  yet  be  seen  within  the  limits  of  Honolulu  made  of  grass  and 
occupied  by  the  natives. 

These  native  huts  or  houses  are  built  by  making  a  framework  of  bamboo 
poles,  covered  with  layers  of  the  banana  tree,  the  trunk  of  which  can  be 
removed  in  layers.  This,  again,  is  covered  with  grass  and  trimmed  on  the 
corners  and  top  by  weaving  the  grass  into  different  patterns.  One  opening 
or  door  usually  admits  enough  light  and  air  for  the  average  native,  though 
some  huts  are  divided  off  into  several  rooms,  with  two  and  sometime 
doors, 


196       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

A  mat  hung  down  on  the  inside,  covering  the  opening,  is  the  common 
door.  Mats  made  of  broad  grass  interwoven  or  braided,  and  sometimes 
flags,  form  the  carpets,  and  a  pile  of  from  two  to  ten,  and  sometimes  even 
more,  makes  the  bed  on  which  the  natives  and  invited  guests  sleep. 

Furniture  there  is  none,  the  natives  always  sitting  on  the  ground  with 
their  legs  crossed  beneath  them.  Their  kitchen  is  outside,  and  is  composed 
of  a  heap  of  stones,  and  ordinarily  an  iron  pot. 

Habits  of  Siberians. — Many  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  these  peo- 
ple are  very  singular.  Along  with  much  rudeness  and  simplicity,  they  have 
a  high  degree  of  ingenuity.  At  night,  for  instance,  an  Ostaik  can  tell  the 
time  very  accurately  by  judging  the  position  of  the  Great  Bear;  and  as  this 
constellation  is  constantly  varying  with  the  season,  the  operation  involves 
on  the  part  of  the  Ostaik  a  calculation  of  some  magnitude.  In  common  with 
all  barbarous  and  semi-barbaric  races,  they  manifest  great  dexterity  in  the 
use  of  weapons.  In  shooting  small  animals,  such  as  squirrels,  hares,  etc., 
for  the  sake  of  their  furs,  care  is  taken  that  the  animal  shall  be  struck  on 
the  head  only;  and  in  this  the  native  seldom  fails,  even  though  their  riflea 
are  very  clumsy  in  construction.  With  the  bow  and  arrow,  which  is  the 
weapon  most  in  use,  they  are  equally  dexterous.  Their  method  of  catching 
salmon,  as  described  by  a  Cossack  officer  who  witnessed  it,  is  peculiar.  In 
marching  through  the  country  at  the  head  of  a  detachment,  he  encamped 
one  evening  on  the  banks  of  a  river;  and  on  the  following  morning  he 
observed  one  of  the  natives  walk  to  a  pool  near  at  hand,  into  which  he 
waded,  and  then  stood  motionless  as  a  statue,  his  spear  poised  aloft,  and  his 
keen  eye  fixed  on  the  water  before  him.  Not  a  movement  indicated  that  life 
inhabited  the  figure,  until,  with  lightning  rapidity,  the  spear  was  launched 
forward  and  as  quickly  withdrawn,  a  fine  salmon  quivering  on  its  barbed 
point.  Three  times  in  twenty  minutes  was  the  operation  performed,  and 
each  time  a  fish  rewarded  the  native's  skill.  And  yet  their  cleverness  is  but 
slightly  applied  to  the  arts  of  life.  The  Tungooses,  for  instance,  use  bear 
and  reindeer  skins  to  form  their  beds;  but  as  they  have  never  discovered 
the  art  of  tanning,  these  articles  when  not  in  use  are  buried  beneath  the 
snow,  by  which  means  the  hair  is  prevented  from  falling  off.  This  same 
tribe,  too,  are  remarkably  improvident;  they  will  consume  nearly  a  week's 
provisions  in  one  night,  and  go  hungry  the  remaining  six  days. 

An  Afghan  Beauty. — The  Afghan  beauty  has  blue-black  hair, 
plastered  stiff  with  gums,  and  either  worn  in  various  forms  on  the  head  or 
plaited  in  long  braids  down  the  back.  The  margins  of  the  ears  are  pierced 
and  decorated  with  rows  of  small  silver  rings,  while  large  rings  hang  from 
the  lobes.  The  neck  and  breast  are  tattoed  with  little  figures  of  stars  and 
flowers,  and  the  sparkle  of  the  lustrous  black  eyes  is  enhanced  by  coating 
the  lids  with  black  antimony.  The  cheeks  are  roughed  and  dotted  with 
little  round  moles  of  gold  and  silver  tinsel  fastened  on  with  gum.  A  loose 
muslin  or  silk  jacket  of  yellow,  blue  or  red,  hangs  below  the  waist,  and 
wide  trousers  of  silk  or  other  colored  material  complete  the  indoor  costume. 
On  going  out,  the  lady  wears  leggings  of  cotton  cloth,  gartered  at  the  knee, 
shoes  of  red  or  yellow  leather,  and  a  hookaposh  or  cloak.  Some  ladies 
wear  horse-hair  veils,  and  others  fasten  vinaigrettes  to  their  foreheads  which 
contain  attar  of  roses  or  other  scents.  Afghan  ladies  exercise  much  in- 
fluence over  their  semi-savage  husbands,  and  one  of  Shere  AU's  wives 
sometimes  smartly  boxes  him  on  the  ear  with  a  slipper, 


TRAVELS,    MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.         197 

A  Persian.  Wedding.— From  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  of  a  Per- 
sian wedding — I  speak  of  a  wedding  in  the  middle  ranks  of  life — there  has 
been  considerable  bustle  in  the  house  of  the  bride's  father.  Carpets  have 
been  borrowed,  and  rooms  that  at  other  times  were  unused  and  empty  are 
now  furnished  and  decorated  with  flowers.  The  poor  are  standing  in  a 
crowd  at  the  outer  door,  sure  of  being  plentifully  regaled.  The  outer  court 
has  been  got  ready  for  the  men.  Vases  of  flowers  are  placed  in  rows  at  all 
open  windows  and  in  every  recess;  thirty  or  forty  pounds  of  tobacco  have 
been  prepared  by  pounding  and  moistening  for  smoking;  the  courtyard  is 
freshly  watered.  If  it  bo  a  calm  day — and  spring  and  summer  days  in  Per- 
sia are  always  free  from  wind — rose-leaves  are  sprinkled  on  the  surface  of 
the  water  of  the  tank  in  the  center  of  the  courtyards,  ao  as  to  form  the  word 
Bismillah,  the  pious  welcome  of  the  Mussulman.  Similar  preparations,  but 
on  a  larger  scale,  have  been  made  in  the  handsome  courtyard  which  con- 
tarns  the  women's  quarters.  From  this  courtyard  the  negresses  may  be 
Been  busily  engaged  in  the  kitchen  preparing  the  breakfast  for  perhaps  one 
hundred  guests,  and  the  visitors  will  stop  all  day,  only  leaving  to  escort  the 
bride  to  the  home  of  her  new  husband,  whither  she  wDl  go  after  dark. 

Large  samovars,  or  Russian  urns,  which  are  in  use  in  every  Persian 
house,  are  hissing  like  small  steam  engines,  ready  to  furnish  tea  for  the 
guests  on  their  arrival;  not  our  idea  of  tea,  but  a  pale  infusion,  sweetened 
to  the  consistency  of  syrup,  from  the  center  of  each  cup  of  which  will  pro- 
ject a  little  island  of  superfluous  sugar.  Orange,  sherbet,  lemon,  pomegra- 
nate, rose-water,  cherry,  quince,  and  an  endless  further  variety  of  these 
refreshing  drinks  will  be  offered  the  thirsty  guests.  And  now  come  the 
musicians — the  Mussulmans  and  the  Jews— the  latter  a  ragged  and  motley 
crew,  but  more  skillful  than  their  better-clad  rivals. 

At  last  all  is  ready.  The  master  of  the  house,  dressed  in  his  best,  gives 
an  anxious  glance  at  the  preparations,  and  has  an  excited  discussion  with 
his  wife  or  wives.  He  waves  his  hand  to  the  musicians,  and  hurries  to  a 
seat  near  the  door  to  be  ready  to  welcome  his  guests.  The  music  strikes  up 
a  merry  tune.  Then  in  a  loud  scream  rises  the  voice  of  the  principal  solo 
singer,  who  commences  one  of  the  sad  love-songs  of  Persia  in  a  high  falsetto 
voice.  His  face  reddens  with  his  exertions,  which  last  through  a  dozen 
yerses.  His  eyes  nearly  start  from  his  head,  the  muscles  of  his  neck  stand 
out  like  ropes,  but  he  keeps  correct  time  on  the  big  tambourine,  which  he 
plays  with  consummate  skill. 

The  music  is  the  signal  to  the  invited  guests;  they  now  arrive  in  crowds. 
The  host  receives  them  with  transports  of  pleasure — all  the  extravagant  com- 
pliments of  Eastern  politeness  pass  between  them.  "  May  your  wedding  be 
fortunate!"  "You  are  indeed  welcome;  this  is  a  never-to-be-forgotten 
honor  to  me,  your  slave."  In  they  pour,  the  men  in  their  beat;  the  women, 
closely  veiled,  pass  on  unnoticed  by  the  men  into  the  bride's  rooms,  where 
they  unveil  and  appear  to  the  delighted  hostesses  in  their  finest  clothes  and 
all  their  jewelry,  and  in  most  cases  with  their  faces  carefully  painted.  All 
the  dresses  worn  among  Persian  ladies  for  indoor  use  only  reach  to  the 
knee;  their  wearers  look  like  opera  dancers.  The  ladies'  feet  and  legs  are 
bare,  as  a  rule,  and  a  gauze  shirt  of  gay  color  and  a  tiny  zouave  jacket, 
elaborately  embroidered,  are  worn.  The  colors  of  their  clothes  are  of  the 
brightest,  and  the  quantity  of  solid  jewelry  worn  in  honor  of  the  bride  is 
prodigious. 

Conversation  goes  on,  pipes  are  smoked  by  both  men  and  women.  Mes- 
sages pass  between  the  two  courtyards.  But  the  men  remain  in  their  quar- 


ters  and  the  women  in  theirs.  The  musicians  and  buffoons,  however,  are 
allowed  in  the  women's  court  on  these  occasions;  they  are  supposed  to  be 
mere  professional  persons,  and  on  this  account  are  tolerated.  At  noon  a 
heavy  breakfast  is  served,  after  which  buffoons  dance  and  sing  songs  in- 
decent enough  in  themselves,  but  tolerated  in  the  East  on  such  occasions. 

The  bride  meanwhile  goes  to  the  bath,  whither  she  is  accompanied  by 
many  of  the  ladies,  the  friends  and  near  relatives  of  the  family,  who  super- 
intend her  toilet  and  perfume  her  body.  At  twilight  there  is  a  hum  of  sus- 
pense. The  whole  place  is  lighted  up  by  lamps,  candles  in  shades  and  lan- 
terns. A  noise  of  a  distant  crowd  is  heard;  alms  in  money  are  freely  dis- 
tributed among  the  crowd  of  beggars  and  poor  at  the  door;  horses  are 
brought  for  the  bride  and  her  friends.  The  procession  of  the  bridegroom  is 
approaching,  and  it  must  be  understood  that  another  grand  party  has  been 
going  on  at  his  father's  house;  the  musicians  sing  and  play  their  loudest; 
the  roofs  (the  flat  roofa  of  the  East)  are  thronged  by  all  the  women  and 
children  of  the  quarter.  The  bride  appears,  carefully  veiled.  She  goes  to 
the  door  and  mounts  a  gayly  caparisoned  horse.  All  the  male  guests  join 
the  procession.  Lighted  cressets,  full  of  blazing  embers,  are  carried  on 
high  poles  to  lead  and  light  the  way.  The  lanterns  of  all  the  guests  are 
lighted  and  carried  in  this  procession,  which  joyfully  wends  its  way  through 
a  cheering  crowd.  At  the  moment  the  bride  leaves  her  father's  house  a 
shout  of  "  Kel  lei  lei!"  announces  the  fact.  Fireworks  blaze,  the  music  is 
deafening;  above  all  is  heard  the  monotonous  banging  of  the  wedding  drum. 
And  so,  the  buffoons  and  musicians  leading  the  way,  the  procession  slowly 
moves  on.  As  it  approaches  the  house  of  the  bridegroom,  several  sheep  are 
sacrificed  in  honor  of  the  bride;  they  are  slain  at  her  feet  as  she  steps  over 
her  husband's  threshold  for  the  first  time,  accompanied  by  a  female  friend 
or  two.  Then,  invoking  blessings  on  the  pair,  all  wend  their  way  home,  and 
the  festival  ia  over. 

A  Persian  Dinner.— A  traveler  thus  describes  a  dinner  in  Persia: 
"  A  tray,  containing  a  chillo  and  pillo,  radishes,  fried  eggs,  a  stew  of  meat, 
and  a  bowl  of  sherbet,  was  allotted  to  each  two  persons,  and,  at  the  word 
'  Bismillah'  (in  the  name  of  God),  the  company  fell  to  in  silence,  unbroken 
during  the  whole  time,  save  by  the  sound  of  the  various  jaws  in  process  of 
mastication.  Hands  were  thrust  deep  into  the  greasy  dishes,  rice  squeezed 
into  balls  and  swallowed  with  astonishing  rapidity;  and  in  less  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  little  remained  of  the  immense  piles  which  had  been  set  be- 
fore them.  Water  was  then  brought  in,  and  each  guest  slightly  wetted  hia 
fingers,  afterward  wiping  them  on  his  pocket-handkerchief  or  coat,  as  the 
cane  might  be,  which  ceremony  had  scarcely  been  performed  when  our  Shah- 
sevea  friend  and  one  or  two  others  loosened  their  belts,  and  immediately 
lapsed  into  a  state  of  torpidity." 

A  Death  in  Persia. — The  sick  man  lies  in  extremis  on  a  thin  mat- 
tress upon  the  floor,  covered  by  a  quilted  silken  coverlet.  Twenty  or  thirty 
persons  are  in  the  room  where  he  is  dying.  The  smoke  of  many  hubble- 
bubbles  clouds  the  air;  whispered  conversation  is  general.  The  doctors 
have  declared  their  patient's  condition  hopeless,  and  as  a  last  resort,  certain 
charms  suggested  by  a  weird-looking  dervish  have  been  tried.  But  the 
crab  broth,  prepared  from  the  tiny  oruetaceans  that  inhabit  tke  streamlet* 
round  Shiraz,  the  patient  has  been  unable  to  swallow;  and  the  dervish 
/taints  out  to  the  relatives  of  the  dying  m&a  that  his  panacea  has  only  not 


MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS,    ETC.        1W 

proved  infallible  because  it  was  tried  too  late.  A  veiled  woman,  the  wife  of 
the  dying  man,  sits  weeping  at  the  side  of  her  husband's  pillow.  She  fre- 
quently holds  to  his  face  a  moistened  piece  of  mud  torn  from  the  wall  (this 
wetted  mud  is  supposed  to  have  a  very  reviving  influence,  and  is  used  by 
Persians  as  we  use  smelling  salts). 

Tea  is  handed  round  in  small  cups;  the  crowd  in  the  room  becomes 
greater;  every  window  is  shut,  and,  as  the  outside  temperature  ia  ninety 
degrees,  some  idea  of  the  heat  within  caii  be  formed.  The  crowd  is  not 
here  from  mere  curiosity.  A  man  is  sick;  then  where  should  his  friende  bt, 
they  say,  if  not  by  his  bedside?  The  samovars  (Russian  tea  urns)  steam 
and  bubble;  the  room  is  filled  with  clouds  of  tobacco  smoke  and  the  steam 
from  the  urns.  And  now,  just  as  two  hundred  years  ago  was  done  in  Eng- 
land, a  fowl  is  killed  and  placed  warm  and  bleeding  on  the  patient's  feet. 
All  is  of  no  avail,  however.  The  man  has  breathed  his  last. 

The  wife  yields  her  place  by  the  bedside.  Moistened  cotton  wool  it 
placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  dead,  ia  the  orifices  of  the  nostrils,  and  in  the 
ears.  A  moollah  begins  to  read  aloud  the  prescribed  portion  of  the  Koran, 
commencing,  "  O  man,  I  swear  by  the  instructive  Koran  that  thou  art  one  of 
the  messengers  of  God  sent  to  show  the  right  way,"  etc.  This  portion  of  the 
Mussulman's  sacred  book  was  called  by  Mohammed  himself  "  the  heart  of 
the  Koran."  And  now  all  present  witness  aloud  that  the  dead  man  was  a 
good  and  pious  Mohammedan.  The  limbs  are  composed,  and  a  cup  of  water 
is  placed  at  the  head  of  the  corpse.  No  soouer  is  this  done  than  a  moollah 
ascends  to  the  flat  roof  of  the  house  and  begins  to  read  in  a  shrill  monotone 
certain  verses  from  the  holy  book.  This  announces  to  the  neighbors  that 
the  man  is  veritably  dead;  and  at  the  same  moment  his  relations  shriek  and 
wail,  "Woe,  woe!  he  is  dead;  he  has  passed  away."  These  are  the  ex- 
pressions of  a  real  grief.  But  presently  the  professional  mourners  arrive 
aud  rend  the  air  with  their  shrill  screaming,  which  is  like  the  "  keening  "  of 
the  Irish. 

The  house  is  soon  filled  with  friends  and  neighbors,  who  add  their  cries 
to  the  screams  of  the  mourners.  The  women  of  the  family  hasten  to  array 
themselves  in  "bitter"  (i.  e.,  sombre)  garments — not  in  actual  black,  but 
in  sad  colors;  neither  they  nor  the  men  wash  or  dress  their  hair  until  tha 
funeral  and  the  first  days  of  mourning  are  over.  The  male  relatives  do  not 
literally  rend  their  garments,  but  give  them  the  right  appearance  by  open- 
ing certain  seams  of  their  coats  and  cloaks  with  a  penknife;  and  instead  of 
casting  dust  upon  their  heads  they  dab  mud  on  their  hats. 

And  now  come  the  "  washers  of  the  dead."  To  each  parish  are  attached 
a  family  of  these  people,  who  get  a  despised  livelihood  by  performing  the 
last  offices  for  the  dead.  The  corpse  having  been  washed  at  an  adjoining 
stream,  the  hands  are  placed  across  the  chest,  and  it  is  wrapped  In  the 
shroud  of  cotton  cloth  that  the  deceased  has  probably  had  by  him,  as  a  sort 
of  memento  mori,  for  years.  Camphor  (real  vegetable  camphor)  is  placed 
beneath  the  shroud,  and  the  body  is  laid  in  a  rough  coffin  made  of  thin 
planks  and  brought  back  to  the  house.  The  coffin  in  Persia  is  of  a  thin  and 
unsubstantial  kind,  and  the  burial  always  takes  place  within  twenty-four 
hours  of  decease. 

Moslem  Marriages.— Brokers  generally  arrange  these  marriages, 
though  there  are  some  love  matches  in  which  the  parties  become  attached 
to  each  other  without  the  intervention  of  a  third  party.  When  a  naaa  baa 
reached  the  marrying  age,  he  ia  expected  to  enter  the  matrimonial  raakj), 


200       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

unless  prevented  by  poverty  or  some  other  impediment,  and  it  is  considered 
improper  and  even  dishonorable  lor  him  to  refrain  from  so  doing.  If  a  mar- 
riageable youth  has  a  mother,  she  describes  to  him  the  girls  ol  her  acquain- 
tance, and  enables  him  to  decide  whom  to  take  to  his  house  and  home. 
Frequently  he  engages  the  services  of  a  woman  marriage  broker,  who  has 
access  to  harems  where  there  are  marriageable  women,  and  is  employed  by 
them  quite  as  often  as  by  the  men.  She  receives  fees  from  one  party,  and 
frequently  from  both.  In  her  visits  to  the  harems  she  is  accompanied  by 
the  mother  or  other  feminine  relatives  of  the  young  man;  she  introduces 
them  as  ordinary  visitors,  but  gives  a  sly  hint  as  to  the  object  of  their  call. 
If  they  do  not  like  the  appearance  of  the  maiden,  they  plead  many  calls  to 
make,  and  cut  short  their  stay;  but  if  satisfied,  they  come  to  business  at 
once,  and  ask  how  much  property,  personal  or  otherwise,  the  young  lady 
possesses.  When  these  facts  are  ascertained,  they  depart,  with  the  intima- 
tion that  they  may  call  again.  If  the  young  man  is  satisfied  with  the  report 
of  the  broker,  he  sends  her  again  to  the  harem  to  state  his  own  prospects  in 
life,  and  if  she  looks  favorably  on  his  suit,  the  match  is  made.  Everything 
is  arranged  by  deputy,  and  the  Mohammedan  lover  does  not  see  the  face  of 
his  mistress  until  she  is  his  wife. 

Marriages  in  Servia.— -The  fathers  of  two  houses  concerned  meet 
and  settle  the  matter  together,  exchanging  presents  which  often  amount  to 
a  considerable  value.  The  brother  of  the  bride  delivers  her  to  the  solemn 
procession,  which  comes  to  conduct  her  to  her  new  abode;  and  there  she  is 
received  by  the  seslee,  a  sister-in-law  of  the  intended  bridegroom.  She 
dresses  a  child,  touches  with  a  distaff  the  walls,  which  are  so  often  to  see 
her  occupied  with  this  implement,  and  carries  bread,  wine  and  water  up  to 
the  table,  which  it  will  become  her  daily  duty  to  prepare.  With  these  sym- 
bolical ceremonies  she  enters  into  the  new  community.  Her  mouth  is 
sealed  by  a  piece  of  sugar,  to  denote  that  she  should  only  utter  little,  and 
only  what  is  good.  As  yet  she  is  only  a  stranger,  and  for  a  whole  year  she 
is  termed  the  "betrothed."  By  an  assumption  of  continued  bashfulness, 
prescribed  by  custom,  she  keeps  apart  even  from  her  husband.  In  the 
preaence  of  others  she  scarcely  converses  with  him,  much  less  would  a 
playful  phrase  be  permitted  from  her  lips.  It  is  only  when  years  have  past, 
and  she  has  become  the  mother  of  grown-up  children,  that  she,  in  reality, 
finds  herself  on  an  equality  with  the  other  members  of  the  household. 

Marriage  Customs  in  Tartary.— Among  the  Kirghese  the  practice 
of  polygamy  obtains.  Generally  the  eldest  brother  of  a  family  has  more 
than  one  wife.  The  first  wife  is  mistress  of  the  household,  and  is  called 
baibiche.  To  her  are  subject  not  only  her  husband's  other  wives,  but  also 
all  the  other  females  of  the  family.  The  head  of  a  household  will  often 
send  a  portion  of  his  herds  several  hundred  miles  away  under  the  care  of 
his  wife,  while  he  himself  will  either  remain  with  his  other  wives  about  the 
grazing  ground,  or  go  and  encamp  somewhere  by  himself.  In  whiter  the 
family  comes  together  again.  The  manifold  circumstances  connected  with 
marriage  among  the  Kirghese  are  somewhat  formidable,  and  involve  the 
payment  of  a  kalim  beside  the  giving  of  various  presents.  The  affair  is  ar- 
ranged as  to  its  preliminaries  by  matchmakers,  and  the  bridegroom  after 
betrothal  has  sometimes  to  wait  for  a  year  or  more  until  he  can  bring  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  kalim.  If  during  this  period  the  betrothed  girl 
Bhould  die,  her  parents  are  bound  to  give  instead  their  next  daughter,  or  in 


TRAVELS,   MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS,   ETC.         201 

default  to  return  the  kalim  and  pay  also  a  fine  of  one  or  two  horses  and 
robes  or  furs.  So  also  is  it  if  the  girl  should  refuse  to  marry,  which  she  may 
do  on  account  of  the  suitor's  ill  health,  or  his  poverty,  or  (in  some  localities) 
her  personal  dislike.  Yet  another  custom  is  that  if  the  bridegroom  die  or 
refuse  to  marry  the  girl  his  parents  are  bound  to  take  her  for  their  next 
son,  paying  a  fine,  usually  a  camel,  in  case  of  refusal.  When  the  prescribed 
period  of  betrothal  is  at  an  end,  the  bridegroom  dressed  and  mounted  at  hie 
best,  goes  with  his  friends  to  the  aul  or  village  of  the  bride,  where  the  tent 
has  been  prepared  for  his  reception.  Throughout  the  ceremonies  of  be- 
trothal the  bride's  brother  has  the  right  of  pilfering  from  the  bridegroom 
whatever  he  pleases;  but  now  the  bride's  relations  come  and  take  as  pres- 
ents almost  everything  he  has— his  coat,  hat,  girdle,  horse  and  saddle,  say- 
ing each  one  that  they  are  for  the  education  of  the  bride — a  seizure  that  is 
afterward  repaid  by  the  relations  of  the  bridegroom  on  the  visit  to  their  aul 
of  the  relations  of  the  bride. 

Polygamy  in  Kafirlaiid — Polygamy  is  universally  admitted  through- 
out all  KaSraria,  nor  is  there  any  legal  limit  to  the  number  of  wives.  But 
in  Kafirland  a  man  is  not  entitled  to  choose  his  wife  or  wives;  his  wishes 
are  in  a  great  degree  subordinate  to  the  "  intentions  "  of  those  who  have 
daughters  to  settle  in  life.  The  number  of  wives,  therefore,  is  generally 
proportioned  to  the  wealth  of  the  husband.  The  refusal  of  a  bride  is  con- 
sidered an  insult  to  the  family,  to  be  expiated  only  by  the  plunder  of  the 
offender's  kraal,  or  by  his  blood.  An  old  man,  if  wealthy,  is  therefore  sure 
to  be  burdened  with  a  "  large  establishment;  "  and  he  is  frequently  obliged 
to  accept  a  youug  wife  when  his  feelings  would  rather  lead  him  to  decline 
the  proffered  happiness.  The  average  number  of  wives  to  each  married 
man  among  the  common  people  is  said  to  be  about  three,  but  the  old  Kafir 
lawyers,  who  have  amassed  wealth  in  the  pursuit  of  a  lucrative  profession, 
are  known  to  have  as  many  as  ten  forced  on  them,  and  these  ladies  are  not 
long  in  learning  the  art  of  dissipating  a  fortune,  or  of  bringing  their  nig- 
gardly lord  to  his  grave.  A  Kafir,  moreover,  is  obliged  to  take  not  only 
any  wife  that  may  be  offered  to  him,  but  to  pay  for  her,  although  the  trans- 
action is  not  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  purchase.  The  original  idea  was, 
that  the  "  consideration "  should  be  held  as  a  deposit  or  security  for  the 
proper  treatment  of  the  women,  and  as  a  token  of  her  husband's  regard; 
and,  accordingly,  a  girl  considers  herself  as  slighted  if  the  usual  honorarium 
has  not  been  given  to  her  parent.  A  young  bride  has  been  known  to  run 
away  from  her  husband  when  she  discovered  that  she  had  not  been  paid 
for. 

Australian  Marriage  Customs.— When  a  girl  is  betrothed  her 
mother  and  aunts  may  not  look  at  or  speak  to  the  man  for  the  rest  of  nib 
life,  but  if  they  meet  him  they  squat  down  by  the  wayside  and  cover  up 
their  heads,  and  when  he  and  they  are  obliged  to  speak  in  one  another's 
presence  they  use  a  peculiar  lingo  which  they  call  "  turn-tongue."  This 
queer  dialect  is  not  used  for  concealment,  for  everybody  understands  it, 
and  some  examples  of  it  show  that  it  has  much  in  common  with  the  ordinary 
language.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  state  of  formality  into  which  life  has  come 
among  these  supposed  free-and-easy  savages,  mention  may  be  made  of  the 
duties  of  the  bridesmaid  and  groomsman.  When  the  married  pair  have 
been  taken  to  the  new  hut  built  for  them,  for  the  next  two  moons  the 
groomsman  and  the  husband  sleep  on  one  side  of  the  fire,  the  bridesmaid 


202      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    V8XFVL   KNOWLEDGE. 

and  the  wife  on  the  other,  the  new  married  couple  not  being  allowed  to 
Bpeak  to  or  look  at  one  another.  The  bride  is  called  a  "  not-look-around," 
and  the  pair  in  this  embarrassing  position  are  a  standing  joke  to  the  young 
people  living  near,  who  amuse  themselves  by  peeping  in  and  laughing  at 
them. 

A  Bulgarian  Wake.— When  the  father  of  the  family  feels  his  end  ap- 
proaching, he  sends  for  the  priest  and  begins  to  bargain  with  him  about  his 
funeral,  and  settles  the  details  of  his  "  wake."  Having  arranged  all  this  and 
his  other  worldly  affairs,  he  feels  comfortably  prepared  to  leave  the  world, 
and  when  his  agony  commences,  to  have  a  lighted  taper  placed  in  his  hand, 
his  jaws  bound  up  with  a  cloth,  and  his  eyelids  closed.  The  moment  his 
pulse  has  stopped,  all  the  pots,  pans,  jars,  kettles,  etc.,  in  the  house  are 
turned  upside  down  to  prevent  his  soul  from  taking  refuge  in  one  of  them, 
and  great  care  is  taken  to  prevent  either  man  or  animal — especially  a  cat  or 
dog— from  stepping  across  his  body,  as  otherwise  he  would  turn  into  a  vam- 
pire, and  be  a  continual  nuisance  and  a  danger  to  his  family  and  the  whole 
community.  Within  a  few  hours  of  death  the  body  is  buried,  without  any 
coffin,  in  a  shallow  grave,  eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  deep,  and  left 
there  for  three  years,  during  which  time  many  offerings  of  food  and  wine  are 
placed  upon  it.  At  the  end  of  the  third  year  the  bones  of  the  dead  man  are 
dug  up,  carefully  washed,  put  into  a  linen  bag,  laid  before  the  episcopal 
throne,  of  which  there  is  one  in  every  village,  blessed  by  the  pope,  and  then 
finally  buried  for  good.  Thus  the  Bulgarian  is  well  taken  care  of  after  his 
death,  unless,  indeed,  there  is  any  reason  to  believe  that  he  has  become  a 
vampire.  In  that  case  the  grave  is  opened  and  the  body  transfixed  by  a 
stake,  or  a  nail  is  driven  into  his  breast.  If  the  body  is  very  well  preserved, 
then  it  is  riddled  with  pistol  shots,  and  the  earth  stamped  down  firmly  upon 
it,  or  sometimes  it  is  burnt  to  ashes  by  a  fire  made  of  thorn. 

Mourning  Customs. — The  ancients  had  queer  ideas  about  mourning 
tor  dead.  The  Egyptian  women  ran  through  the  streets  crying,  with  their 
bosoms  exposed  and  their  hair  disordered.  The  Lycians  regarded  mourning 
as  unmanly,  and  compelled  men  who  went  into  mourning  to  put  on  female 
garments.  In  Greece,  when  a  popular  general  died,  the  whole  army  cut  off 
their  hair  and  the  manes  of  their  horses.  At  the  present  day,  the  Arabian 
women  stain  their  hands  and  feet  with  indigo,  which  they  suffer  to  remain 
eight  days.  They  also  carefully  abstain  from  milk  during  this  time,  on  the 
ground  that  its  white  color  does  not  accord  with  the  gloom  of  their  minds. 
In  China,  the  mourning  color  is  white.  Mourning  for  a  parent  or  husband  is 
required  there  by  law,  under  penalty  of  sixty  blows  and  a  year's  banish- 
ment. When  an  emperor  dies,  all  his  subjects  let  their  hair  grow  for  one 
hundred  days.  In  the  Feejee  Islands,  on  the  tenth  day  of  mourning,  the 
women  scourge  all  the  men  except  the  highest  chiefs.  Another  fashionable 
custom  there  requires  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  deceased  to  assemble 
on  the  fourth  day  after  the  funeral,  and  picture  to  themselves  the  amount 
of  corruption  the  corpse  has  sustained  by  that  time.  In  the  Sandwich  Is- 
lands pertons  desirous  of  going  into  mourning,  paint  the  lower  part  of  their 
faces  black,  and  knock  out  their  front  teeth. 

Sicilian  Funeral  Customs.— In  past  ages  a  piece  of  money  was  put 
into  the  mouth  of  the  corpse — a  survival  of  the  fare  which  Charon  was 
bound  to  receive.  A  virgin  has  a  palm  branch  and  a  crown  in  her  coffin;  & 
child  a  garland  of  flowers.  It  is  the  worst  possible  omen  for  a  bridal  pro- 


TRAVELS,  AfANNEliS  AND   CVSTOMS,   ETC.         208 

cession  to  meet  a  funeral.  It  has  to  be  averted  by  making  the  "  horns,"  or 
"leflche"  (thrusting  the  thumb  between  the  first  two  fingers),  or  by 
putting  a  pomegranate  before  the  door  or  in  the  window.  At  Piano  de 
Greci,  certain  little  loaves  or  bread  cakes  in  the  form  of  a  cross  are  given  to 
the  poor  on  the  day  of  a  death.  In  Giacosa,  behind  the  funeral  procession 
comes  an  ass  laden  with  food,  which,  after  the  burial,  is  distributed  either 
in  the  open  or  under  cover  in  some  house.  The  Sicilian  Albanians  do  not 
sit  on  chairs  during  the  first  days  of  mourning,  but  on  the  dead  man's  mat- 
tress. In  some  houses  all  is  thrown  into  intentional  confusion — turned  up- 
side down  to  mark  the  presence  of  death.  Others  put  out  the  mattress  to 
show  that  the  invalid  is  dead;  others  again  remake  the  bed  as  for  marriage, 
placing  on  it  the  crucifix  which  the  sick  man  had  held  in  his  hand  when 
dying.  Woe  to  those  who  lot  the  candle  go  out  while  burning  at  the  foot  of 
the  bedl  On  the  first  day  of  mourning  there  is  only  one  of  these  corpse- 
lighte;  on  the  second  day,  two;  on  the  third,  three.  Men  and  women  sit 
round — the  men  covered  up  in  their  cloaks  with  a  black  ribbon  around  their 
throats,  the  women  with  their  black  mantels  drawn  closely  over  the  head, 
all  in  deep  mourning.  For  the  first  nine  days  friends,  also  in  strict  deep 
mourning,  throng  the  house  to  pay  their  formal  visits  of  condolence.  The 
mourners  do  not  speak  or  look  up,  but  sit  there  like  statues  and  talk  of  the 
dead  in  solemn  phrases  and  with  bated  breath,  but  entering  into  the 
minutest  and  sometimes  most  immodest  details.  The  mourning  lasts  one  or 
two  years  for  parents,  husband  or  wife  and  brothers  and  sisters;  six  months 
for  grandparents  and  uncles  and  aunts;  three  months  for  a  cousin. 

Cashmere  Women — Cashmere  has  long  been  famous  for  its  beauty. 
"  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  Yale  of  Cashmere  ?  "  sings  a  poet.  It  is  an 
irregular  oval,  shut  in  by  snow-clad  mountains,  with  a  rich  soil,  yielding 
flour,  fruit  and  grain,  with  useful  minerals — iron,  copper,  lead,  plumbago. 
But  neither  its  beauty  nor  its  fertility  could  keep  out  war  and  pestilence. 
Scourged  by  these,  the  kingdom  of  Cashmere,  of  which  the  Valley  alone 
contained  nearly  a  million  of  people,  now  seea  all  its  provinces  number  only 
three-quarters  of  that  amount.  The  Cashmerians  are  pre-eminent  among 
Indian  nations  for  their  physical  perfection.  The  men  are  tall,  well-formed, 
robust  and  industrious,  manufacturing  shawls,  guns,  paper,  lacquered  ware 
and  attar  of  roses.  The  women  are  famous  for  their  beauty  and  fine  com- 
plexion. They  are  a  gay  people,  fond  of  pleasure,  literature  and  poetry. 
The  men  are  distinguished  by  their  mode  of  wearing  the  turban.  The  women 
wear  a  red  gown,  with  large,  loose  sleeves,  a  red  fillet  on  the  forehead,  over 
which  is  thrown  a  white  mantilla.  The  hair  is  collected  in  separate  plaits, 
then  gathered  together,  and  a  long  tassel  of  black  cotton  is  hung  from  it, 
almost  down  to  the  ankles.  Cashmere  was  conquered  by  Akbar  in  1586;  by 
the  Afghans  in  1752;  by  the  Sikhs  in  1819;  and  by  the  English  in  1846. 

Women  in  Tunis.— Women  are  kept  much  stricter  in  Tunis  than  in 
Egypt  or  Turkey.  Moorish  ladies  of  high  standing  never  show  themselves 
in  the  street;  and  there  are  thousands  of  them  whose  only  walk  during  their 
•whole  lives  has  been  from  the  house  of  their  parents  to  that  of  their  hus- 
bands. Poor  women  have  to  go  out  to  make  their  purchases,  and  also  to  go 
to  public  baths,  as  they  have  none  in  their  «wn  houses;  but  they  are  veiled 
to  such  a  degree,  and  enveloped  in  so  many  shawls,  that  you  can  scarcely 
see  the  tips  of  their  fingers.  The  women  of  the  middle  classes  also  wear  a 
dark,  heavy  Bilk  handkerchief,  and  you  only  see  their  feet  clothed  in  little 


slippers,  either  embroidered  with  gold  or  of  patent  leather,  aud  perhaps  a 
little  bit  of  the  calf,  dressed  in  a  snow-white  stocking,  ornamented  with 
silver  or  golden  clasps,  which  clink  at  every  step  like  spurs.  Woe  be  to  the 
European  who,  in  the  presence  of  men,  were  to  stare  at  a  Moorish  woman  or 
accost  her!  The  Moors  are,  both  in  respect  of  their  religion  and  their 
women,  the  greatest  fanatics;  and  to  pursue  a  woman,  or  to  enter  a  mosque, 
may  cost  one's  life  to  this  day. 

The  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun.— Nothing  strikes  a  stranger 
more  forcibly,  if  he  visits  Sweden  at  the  season  of  the  year  when  the  days 
are  longest,  than  the  absence  of  night.  Dr.  Baird  relates  some  interesting 
facts.  He  arrived  in  Stockholm  from  Gottenburgh,  four  hundred  miles  dis- 
tant, in  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  went  to  see  some  friends.  He 
returned  about  midnight,  when  it  was  as  light  as  it  is  in  England  half  an 
hour  before  sunset.  You  could"  see  distinctly,  but  all  was  quiet  in  the 
streets;  it  seemed  as  if  tne  inhabitants  had  gone  away  or  were  dead.  The 
eun  in  June  goes  down  in  Stockholm  a  little  before  ten  o'clock.  There  is  a 
great  illumination  all  night,  as  the  sun  passes  round  the  earth  toward  the 
north  pole;  and  the  refraction  of  its  rays  is  such  that  you  can  see  to  read  at 
midnight  without  any  artificial  light.  The  first  morning  Dr.  Baird  awoke  in 
Stockholm,  he  was  surprised  to  see  the  sun  shining  in  his  room.  He  looked 
at  his  watch  and  found  it  was  only  three  o'clock.  The  next  time  he  awoke  it 
was  five  o'clock,  but  there  were  persons  in  the  street.  There  is  a  mountain  at 
the  head  of  Bothnia,  where,  on  the  21st  of  June,  the  sun  does  not  appear  to 
go  down  at  all.  The  steamboat  goes  up  from  Stockholm  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  those  who  are  curious  to  witness  the  phenomenon.  It  occurs 
only  one  night.  The  sun  reaches  the  horizon,  yoii  can  see  tho  whole  face  of 
it,  and  in  five  minutes  more  it  begins  to  rise.  At  tho  North  Cape,  latitude 
seventy-two  degrees,  the  sun  does  not  go  down  for  several  weeks  In  June 
it  would  be  about  twenty-nva  degrees  above  tho  horizon  at  midnight.  In 
the  winter  time  the  sun  disappears  and  is  not  seen  for  weeks;  then  it  comes 
and  remains  for  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  minutes,  after  which  it  descends, 
and  finally  does  not  set  at  all,  but  makes  almost  a  circle  around  the 
heavens.  Birds  and  animals  take  their  accustomed  rest  &i  the  usual  hour, 
whether  the  sun  goes  down  or  not. 

A  Tyrolese  Custom._Tn  the  mountains  of  Tyrol,  it  is  the  custom  of 
the  women  and  children  to  come  out,  when  it  is  bedtime,  and  sing  their 
national  songs  xantil  they  hear  their  husbands,  fathers  and  orothers  answer 
them  from  the  hills  or  on  their  return  home.  On  the  shore  of  the  Adriatic 
such  a  custom  prevails.  There  the  wives  of  the  fishermen  come  down  about 
sunset  and  sing  a  melody.  After  singing  the  first  stanza,  they  listen  awhile 
for  the  answering  strain  from  off  the  water,  and  continue  to  sing  and  listen 
till  the  well-known  voices  come  borne  on  the  tide,  telling  that  the  loved 
ones  are  almost  home. 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


Niagara  Falls. — The  largest,  grandest  and  most  magnificent  cataract 
in  the  world  is  the  world-famous  Falls  of  Niagara.  The  Niagara  River, 
which  flows  northward  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Ontario,  forms  the  only  out- 


NIAGARA  FALLS  FROM  BELOW. 

let  of  Lakes  Superior,  Michigan,  Huron  and  Erie,  hence  the  entire  flow  of 
waters  from  these  mammoth  lakes  must  pass  over  the  cataract.  The  river 
is  about  thirty-six  miles  in  length,  and  its  descent  from  the  level  of  the  one 
lake  to  that  of  the  other  is  about  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet.  On 
issuing  from  Lake  Erie,  it  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile  broad;  but  as  it  flows 
on,  it  becomes  several  miles  wide,  making  room  for  a  number  of  islands,  the 
largest  of  which,  Grand  Island,  is  twelve  miles  long,  and  from  two  to  seven 
broad.  At  the  foot  of  Grand  Island,  which  reaches  within  one  and  a  half 


206        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

milee  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  the  river  is  contracted  to  a  breadth  of  two  and 
a  half  miles,  and  grows  narrower  as  it  proceeds.  By  this,  and  by  the  de- 
scent in  the  channel,  which  is  about  sixty  feet  in  the  mile  above  the  Falls, 
are  produced  the  swift  currents  known  as  the  Rapids,  in  which  the  river, 
notwithstanding  its  great  depth,  is  perpetually  white  with  foam.  At  the 
Falls,  which  are  twenty-two  miles  from  Lake  Erie,  the  river  ia  divided  by 
an  island  containing  about  seventy-five  acres,  called  Goat  Island;  but  in 
consequence  of  a  bend  in  the  channel,  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  water 


THE  HOKSESHOE  FAIL,   NIAGARA. 

is  sent  down  by  the  Canadian  side.  On  this  side,  therefore,  is  the  grander 
cataract,  which  has  been  named  the  Horseshoe  Fall,  but  no  longer  bears  the 
name  appropriately,  as  Ihe  precipice  has  been  worn  from  a  curved  into  a 
somewhat  angular  shape.  This  process  of  wearing  away  still  goes  on,  a  large 
projection  on  the  Canadian  bank,  known  as  the  Table  Eock,  having  partly  fallen 
off  in  1863.  The  Horseshoe  Fall  is  above  six  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  feet  in  height.  The  water  is  so  deep  that 
it  retains  its  green  color  for  some  distance  below  the  brow  of  the  precipice; 
and  it  rushes  over  with  such  force,  that  it  is  thrown  about  fifty  feet  from  the 
fpot  of  the  cliff.  One  may  thus,  having  donned  an  oil-skin  dress,  enter  two 


TEE    WORLD    ILLUSTEATXD.  907 

or  three  yards  behind  the  curved  sheet  of  water;  but  the  spray  is  BO  blind- 
ing, the  dm  so  deafening,  and  the  current  of  air  so  strong,  that  it  requires  a 
tolerably  calm  nerve  and  firm  foot.  The  separation  caused  by  Goat  Island 
leaves  a  large  wall  of  rock  between  the  Canadian  and  American  Falls,  th« 
latter  being  again  divided  by  an  islet  at  a  short  distance  from  Goat  Island. 
This  fall  is  from  eight  to  ten  feet  higher  than  the  Horseshoe,  but  only  about 
two  hundred  and  twenty  yards  broad.  A  little  above  the  Fall,  the  channel 
is  divided  by  Bath  Island,  which  is  connected  by  bridges  with  Goat  Island 
and  the  American  shore.  A  small  tower,  approached  from  Goat  Island,  has 
been  built  on  a  rock  over  the  brow  of  the  Horseshoe  Fall;  aud  from  this  the 
finest  view  on  the  American  side  may  be  obtained,  the  Table  Bock  on  the 
Canadian  side  giving  the  conipletest  view  of  the  entire  cataract.  The  Falls 


BAPIDS   OF  THE  ST.    LAWRENCE. 

cau  also  be  seen  from  below  on  both  sides,  and  every  facility  is  given  for 
viewing  them  from  all  the  best  points,  while  magnificent  hotels,  Canadian 
and  American,  offer  their  inducements  to  the  tourist  to  stay  till  he  has  re- 
ceived the  full  influence  of  the  scenery.  The  river  is  crossed  about  two 
hundred  or  three  hundred  yards  below  the  Falls,  where  it  is  twelve  hun-1 
dred  yards  broad.  The  current  is  lessened  for  about  a  mile,  but  increases 
again  as  the  channel  becomes  narrower  and  the  descent  greater.  Between 
three  and  four  miles  below  the  Falls,  a  stratum  of  rock  runs  across  the  di- 
rect course  of  the  river,  which,  after  forming  a  vast  circular  basin,  with  an 
impassable  whirlpool,  is  forced  away  at  right  angles  to  its  old  channel.  The 
celebrated  wire  suspension-bridge  for  the  Great  Western  Railway,  with  a 
road  beneath  for  vehicles  and  foot  passengers,  crosses  the  river  one  and  a 
half  miles  below  the  fall;  it  is  eight  hundred  feet  long,  forty  broad,  and  torn 
hundred  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  We  present  illustrations  o( 
the  American  Fall,  as  eeen  from  below?  and  of  the  Horseshoe  Fall. 


208      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence.— The  St.  Lawrence  River, 
•which  flows  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  sea,  forming  the  outlet  of  th«  entire 
chain  of  great  lakes  in  America,  is  remarkable  for  its  beautiful  scenery. 
Here  are  located  the  famous  Thousand  Islands,  and  the  shores  of  the  river 
throughout  its  entire  length  are  picturesque  in  the  extreme.  From  the 
Thousand  Islands  to  Montreal  a  succession  of  rapida  occur,  the  most 
famous  of  which  are  the  Rapids  of  Lachine,  a  few  miles  above  Mon- 
treal, of  which  our  illustration  is  a  faithful  delineation.  Large  steamers 
pass  over  these  Rapids,  taking  the  course  of  the  channel  and  descending 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  rocks  on  either  side,  and  "  shooting  the  Rapids  "  is 
an  experience  long  to  be  remembered  by  the  traveler.  No  boat  can  ascend 


FRANCONIA  NOTCH,   WHITE  MOUNTAINS. 

the  river  above  Montreal,  but  must  pass  through  the  canal  which  has  been 
provided  for  this  purpose. 

Franconia  Notch,  White  Mountains.— The  White  Mountain 
group  proper  and  the  Franconia  group  are  separated  from  each  other  by  a 
table  land  varying  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  in  breadth.  Of  the  "  notches," 
or  passages  rent  through  the  solid  granite  of  the  mountains,  there  are  five, 
those  most  celebrated  being  the  White  Mountain  Notch,  two  miles  in  length 
and  only  twenty-two  feet  wide,  and  the  Franconia  Notch,  which  permits  the 
passage  of  the  Pemigewasset.  The  flume  of  the  Franconia  Notch  is  the 
most  noted  of  those  narrow  waterways.  Among  the  other  objects  of  interest 
in  the  Franconia  group  is  the  "  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain."  At  the  base  of 
the  mountain  lies  a  beautiful  lakelet  called  Profile  Lake.  The  White  Moun- 
are  famous  for  grand  and  beautiful  scenery. 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


209 


Watkina  Glen.— The  famous  Watkins  Glen  is  located  in  Schuyler 
County,  New  York,  at  the  head  of  Seneca  Lake.  It  is  a  narrow  gorge  or 
defile,  about  three  miles  in  length,  cut  hundreds  of  feet  in  depth  in  the 
rocky  hills.  It  consists  properly  of  a  number  of  glens  or  sections,  rising 


•WATKINS  GLEN. 


one  above  another  and  forming  a  series  of  rocky  arcades,  galleries 
and  grottoes,  and  forms  the  channel  for  a  limpid  stream,  which  descends 
from  section  to  section  by  a  myriad  of  cascades  and  rapids.  The  Kainbow 
Fall,  Artist's  Dream,  Cavern  Cascade  and  Cathedral  are  most  celebrated,  • 


210       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Fawn's  Leap,  Catskill  Mountains The  Catskill  Mountains,  in 

Greene  County,  New  York,  are  a  part  of  the  Appalachian  system.  The 
group  runs  nearly  parallel  with  the  Hudson  River,  from  which  the  moun- 
tains are  distant  about  eight  miles.  The  region  gained  a  world-wide 
celebrity  during  the  lifetime  of  Washington  Irving,  who  made  it  the 
scene  of  his  most  beautiful  legends.  The  chief  interest  of  the  Catekills  lies 
in  the  variety  and  beauty  of  their  scenery.  They  present  a  multitude  of 
picturesque  objects,  which  have  long  made  them  a  favorite  resort  of  artists 
and  other  lovers  of  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  nature.  The  highest  peak  is 
the  Overlook  Mountain,  three  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  sea 
level,  from  the  summit  of  which  may  be  obtained  a  grand  view,  stretching 
from  the  Green  Mountains,  in  Vermont,  to  the  highlands  of  West  Point,  and 


FAWN'S  LEAP,    CATSKILL  MOUNTAINS. 

including  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Hudson  River  valley.  The  Hunter 
Mountain,  High  Peak  and  Round  Top  are  also  high  and  commanding  eleva- 
tions. The  Kaatersldll  Clove,  a  remarkable  ravine  five  miles  in  length,  lies 
between  the  lake  and  Round  Top.  "  The  mountains  divide  like  the  cleft 
foot  of  a  deer,"  leaving  a  deep  hollow  into  which  the  brook  plunges  over 
a  cascade  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  height.  This  fall  is  called  the 
"  Fawn's  Leap."  There  are  also  many  other  beautiful  cataracts  in  the 
Kaaterskill  region.  The  recent  completion  of  railroad  lines  leading  to 
the  very  heart  of  the  mountains,  and  the  erection  of  several  new  and 
expensive  hotels,  has  made  the  CatakUla  of  late  years  more  popular 
than  ever. 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED.  211 

Trenton  Falls,  New  York.— A  series  of  six  cataracts,  within  the 
distance  of  two  miles,  with  an  aggregate  descent  of  three  hundred  and 
twelve  feet,  constitute  the  picturesque  and  romantic  Trenton  Falls,  which  are 
a  part  of  the  West  Canada  Creek,  the  main  branch  of  the  Mohawk  River.  The 
stream  flows  through  a  narrow  gorge  from  one  to  two  hundred  feet  deep,  and 
in  a  succession  of  beautiful  cascades  and  cataracts  the  water  plungea  with 
great  violence.  Mr.  J.  David  Williams,  editor  of  "  America  Illustrated,'' 
describes  the  Falls  as  follows:  "  It  is  not  a  mere  waterfall  or  series  of  water- 
talle.  It  is  a  gigantic  millrace,  running  for  three  miles  between  walls  of 
solid  rock,  nature's  masonry,  twice  as  high  as  Trinity  steeple,  and  in  many 


TBENTON  FALLS,   NEW  YOEK. 

places  almost  as  perpendicular.  Through  this  gorge  ran  the  waters  t>^ 
West  Canada  Creek;  now  corkscrewing  their  way  through  a  rocky  path,  water 
hewn;  now  precipitating  themselves  by  a  series  of  cascades  into  an  amphi- 
theatre whose  rugged  sides  of  rock  are  clothed  in  leafy  green;  now  flowing 
in  a  rapid  stream  over  a  bed  as  smooth,  and  composed  of  stones  as  regular 
•\nd  rectangular  as  those  of  a  city  sidewalk;  now  pouring  over  a  rocky  dam 
if)  straight  and  formal  that  you  instinctively  look  for  a  sawmill  at  its  base; 
now  leaping  down  a  two-storied  cascade  in  a  series  of  falls  whose  wondrous 
variety  of  beauty  is  beyond  the  power  of  pen  or  pencil  to  describe;  now  dart- 
ing over  a  bed  of  rough  rocks  which  throw  it  into  foam  and  eddies  and 
waves  that  are  like  a  miniature  surf;  now  gathering  all  its  volume  into  one 
concentrated  column  and  plunging  through  a  narrow  gap,  beating  like  a 
gigantic  trip-hammer  on  the  rocky  bed  beneath,  finally  to  hurry  ewirled  and 


212       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


and  writhed  into  innumerable  forms  through  a  narrow  defile,  to 
1  last  in  a  deep  and  to  the  eye  an  unfathomable  pool  of  treacherous 
calm  at  the  very  edge  and  mouth  of  the  stony  chasm.  *  *  *  *  At  the  point 
in  the  Falls  where  the  greatest  volume  of  water  descends,  the  rocky  walls 
on  either  side  are  much  nearer  each  other  than  at  other  places,  giving  the 
fall  at  a  distance  the  appearance  of  water  rushing  through  a  great  flood- 
gate. The  waters  rush  along  with  an  impetuous  and  unnecessary  haste  that 
is  thoroughly  American— every  drop  is  unmistakably  native-born.  The 
walls  are  almost  perpendicular  below  the  Falls,  and  in  many  places  the  sky 
is  scarcely  visible  from  the  banks  of  the  creek.  There  is  a  ladder  built 
from  the  base  of  the  great  cataract  to  the  plateau  above  it,  and  tourists  cau 
climb  up  and  view  the  falls  at  the  spot  where  the 
first  descent  begins.  The  spectacle  here  wit- 
nessed.is  more  than  compensation  for  the  exer- 
tion." *  *  *  * 

The  Bartholdi  Statue.— The  great  Bar-r 
tholdi  statue,  "  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World," 
erected  upon  Bedloe's  Island  in  New  York  Bay, 
was  the  gift  of  France  to  the  American  people. 
It  is  said  that  this  gigantic  work  cost  $250,000,  the 
expense  being  borne  by  250,000  Frenchmen  of  the 
middle  class,  each  of  whom  contributed  the 
sum  of  one  dollar.  Bartholdi,  the  sculptor,  was 
eight  years  constructing  the  statue.  The  figure 
is  made  of  hammered  copper  sheets,  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  thick.  These  are  riveted  together, 
and  fastened  to  a  four-sided  iron  frame  which 
runs  up  through  the  center  of  the  figure,  and  is 
firmly  fixed  to  the  pedestal.  It  is  the  largest 
statue  of  which  any  knowledge  is  preserved. 
The  Colossus  of  Rhodes  was  said  to  be  ninety 
feet  high,  the  statue  of  "Bavaria,"  at  Munich,  is 
eixty  feet  high,  The  height  of  the  Bartholdi 
statue,  including  the  pedestal  and  foundation,  is 
305  feet.  It  towers  above  the  Brooklyn  Bridge 
pillars  and  the  steeple  of  Trinity  Church.  It 
weighs  220  tons.  Some  estimate  of  the  size  of 
this  colossal  figure  may  be  formed  from  the  di- 
mensions of  the  forefinger.  It  is  eight  feet  long, 

THE  BABTHOLDI  STATUE,  and  four  feet  nine  inches  around  at  the  second 
joint.    The  head  is  fourteen  and  a  half  feet  high, 

and  the  nose  three  feet  seven  inches  long.  A  man  six  feet  tall  standing 
upon  the  level  of  the  lips,  would  just  reach  the  eyebrows.  Fifteen  people 
may  sit  around  the  flame  of  the  torch.  A  staircase  ascends  inside  from  the 
bottom  of  the  statue  quite  up  into  the  torch.  There  the  climber  can  go 
outside  to  a  circular  balcony,  with  a  railing,  around  the  torch.  The  view 
here  of  New  York  harbor  and  city,  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  the  Hudson  River 
and  heights,  the  bay  and  the  ocean,  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  in 
America. 


The  Palisades  of  the  Hudson  River.— The  Hudson  River  has  been 
Appropriately  called  the  American  Rhine  from  the  picturesque  and  roman- 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


213 


tic  character  of  its  scenery.  Its  source  is  in  the  Adirondack  Mountains  and 
its  mouth  is  New  York  Bay.  It  is  navigable  to  Albany,  a  distance  of  160 
miles.  It  winds  its  way  gracefully  among  mountains,  hills  and  forests,  its 
surface  smooth  and  bright  as  a  mirror,  forming  a  scene  of  Eden-like  beauty. 
From  Fort  Lee,  N.  J.,  opposite  the  upper  portion  of  Manhattan  Island,  to 
Piermont,  N.  Y.,  the  west  bank  of  the  river  consists  of  a  precipitous  rocky 
wall  called  the  Palisades.  This  wall  is  of  trap-rock,  and  rises  almost  straight 


THE  PALISADES  OF  THE  HUDSON  BIVEB. 

and  perpendicular  from  the  river's  brink  to  a  height  of  from  three  to  six 
hundred  feet,  and  extends  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles.  The  Hudson  Kiver 
was  first  explored  in  1609  by  Henry  Hudson,  an  English  navigator,  who 
ascended  to  the  present  site  of  Albany.  Robert  Fulton  made  his  first  suc- 
cessful experiments  in  steam  navigation  upon  this  river.  During  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  it  was  the  scene  of  many  important  engagements, 
and  some  of  the  old  Revolutionary  fortifications  and  other  structures  are  atill 
preserved. 


U14 


OF    V8EFUL 


The  Allegheny  River.  —  This  beautiful  stream  rises  in  the  northern 
part  of  Pennsylania,  from  whence  it  flows  to  Pittsburgh,  where  it  unites 
with  the  Monongahela  to  form  the  Ohio.  It  is  navigable  for  nearly  200 
miles  above  Pittsburgh.  For  the  greater  part  of  its  course  it  flows  through 


THE  ALLEGHENY  EIVEB. 

&  great  ravine,  from  one  to  two  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  adjacent 
country.  The  scenery  in  some  places  is  wild  and  rugged,  but  more  gener- 
ally is  picturesque  and  beautiful.  The  hills  are  clothed  with  a  dense  forest, 
and  washed  at  their  base  by  the  limpid  water.  In  all  Pennsylvania  there  is 
no  scenery  more  picturesque  than  that  of  the  Allegheny  River. 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


215 


Natural  Bridge,  Virginia. — In  Rockbridge  County,  Virginia,  is  to 
be  found  one  of  the  greatest  curiosities  in  the  United  States.  Spanning  a 
small  and  unimportant  creek  (The  Cedar)  is  this  world's  wonder — the  Natu- 
ral Bridge.  This  bridge  consists  of  a  stupendous  arch  of  limestone  rock, 
over  a  chasm  fifty  feet  wide  at  its  base,  and  ninety  feet  at  the  top.  The 


NATURAL  BEIDGE,  VIRGINIA. 

height  of  the  bridge  above  the  stream,  to  the  top,  is  two  hundred  and  fifteen 
feet;  its  average  width  is  eighty  feet;  its  extreme  length  at  top,  ninety-three 
feet,  and  its  thickness,  from  the  under  to  the  upper  side,  fifty-five  feet.  A. 
clayey  earth  covers  it  to  the  depth  of  from  four  to  six  feet,  and  it  possesses 
a  natural  parapet  of  rock  at  the  sides,  rendered  firm  by  rocks  and  trees. 
The  view  from  above  is  grand,  but  the  best  prospect  is  obtained  from  be- 
neath, where  the  astonished  spectator  has  full  scope  to  grasp,  at  a  single 
glance,  this  magnificent  work  of  nature.  Tho  beauty,  elevation,  and  light- 


216      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEFUL 

ness  of  the  arch  present  a  striking  instance  of  the  graceful  in  combination 
with  the  sublime. 

Gothic  Chapel,  Mammoth  Cave,  Kentucky — The  Mammoth 
Cave  is  in  Edmonson  County,  Kentucky.  It  extends  nine  miles  under- 
ground, and  embraces  a  great  variety  of  subterranean  chambers.  The 


GOTHIC  CHAPEL,   MAMMOTH   CAVE,  KENTUCKY. 

Gothic  Chapel  is  in  what  is  known  as  the  Gothic  Arcade,  and  is  entered  from 
the  main  cave  by  ascending  a  flight  of  steps  some  fifteen  feet  in  height.  The 
Chapel  is  a  large  room,  the  ceiling  of  which  appears  to  be  supported  by 
gigantic  stalactites,  which  extend  to  the  floor.  When  a  number  of  lamps 
are  hung  upon  these  columns,  or  carried  in  the  hands  of  visitors,  the  Chapel 
presents  a  beautiful  appearance.  There  are  many  circumstances  to  prove 
that  the  Mammoth  Cave  is  part  of  the  course  of  a  subterranean  river  which 
existed  in  a  former  condition  of  the  surface.  Geologists  assign  a  million 
years  as  the  approximate  term  for  the  production  of  this  series  of  caves. 


TBE    WOULD   ILLUSTRATED 


217 


Silver  Springs,  Florida. — The  St.  Johns  River  is  said  to  be  in  many 
respects  the  most  remarkable  in  North  America.  It  has  its  source  in  the 
Everglades  of  Central  and  Southern  Florida;  and  after  running  due  north 
for  two  hundred  miles,  it  abruptly  turns  eastward  to  the  ocean.  Some  dis- 
tance up  this  strange  river  is  the  famed  Silver  Springs,  a  great,  deep  and 
surprisingly  clear  basin  of  water,  which  boils  up  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  with  much  force,  forming  a  river  one  hundred  feet  in  width,  and  which, 
in  the  course  of  seven  miles,  forms  a  junction  with  the  Ocklawaha.  This 
spring  is  seventy  feet  deep,  as  clear  as  crystal,  and  remarkably  fresh  and 


8ILVEB  SPRINGS,   JTLOBEDA. 

cool.  "  The  steamboat  on  the  surface,"  writes  Mr.  Louis  M.  Babcock, 
editor  of  "  Our  American  Resorts,"  describing  the  Silver  Springs,  "  rests  on 
an  inverted  fac  simile,  and  every  tree,  twig,  vine  and  rock  is  reproduced  in 
the  beautiful  pool.  The  floor  of  this  basin  is  silver  sand,  studded  with  curi- 
ous figures  in  pale,  green-tinted  lime  crystals.  A  row  across  the  pool  is 
ever  to  be  remembered.  Every  object  that  has  been  dropped  into  the  water 
by  preceding  visitors  lies  in  the  silver  setting,  a  rich  emerald  gem.  At  one 
place  a  barely  discernible  bubbling  points  out  the  spot  from  which  the  water 
gushes  out,  thousands  of  gallons,  eveiy  moment.  A  stone  dropped  toward 
the  slight  ledge  of  limestone  rock  twenty-five  feet  below,  is  suddenly  thrown 
in  a  curved  line  nearly  to  the  surface  by  the  rush  of  the  spring  from  under 
the  rock." 


218       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Silver  Cascade,  St.  Anthony's  Palls.— The  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  in 
Minnesota,  received  their  name  from  Father  Louis  Hennepin,  a  French  mis- 
sionary, by  whom  they  were  discovered  in  1680.  The  entire  river,  which 
exceeds  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  width,  falls  perpendicularly  a  dia- 


STLVEH  CASCADE,   ST.   ANTHONY'S  FALLS. 


tAnce  of  thirty  feet,  forming  a  beautiful  cataract.  The  rapids  below,  in  a 
apace  of  three  hundred  yards,  render  the  descent  considerably  greater,  so 
that,  when  viewed  from  a  distance,  the  falls  appear  much  higher  than  they 
really  are.  The  surrounding  country  is  very  picturesque.  A  short  distance 
below  the  falls  is  a  small  island,  where  grow  many  large  oak  trees,  upon 
which  hundreds  of  eagles  build  their  nests.  The  Silver  Cascade  shown  in 
our  illustration  is  a  very  beautiful  fall,  within  easy  driving  distance  from 
Minneapolis, 


VfORttt    tLfffStnAfED.  219 

Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado.— The  scenery  of  the  Eocky  Moun- 
tains is  not  surpassed  in  grandeur  and  magnificence  by  the  famous  Alps  of 
Switzerland.  In  fact,  in  the  matter  of  their  wonderful  river  canons  or  ravines 


GBAND  CANON  OF  THE  COLORADO. 

they  have  no  parallel  in  any  part  of  tbe  world.  These  canons  are  cut  thou- 
sands of  feet  into  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  and  through  this  dark  and 
rocky  gorge  the  turbulent  river  winds  its  way.  The  Grand  Canon  of  the 
Colorado  is  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  long,  and  from  two  thousand  five 
hundred  to  four  thousand  feet  deep.  Its  walls  are  of  solid  rock,  in  some 
•laces  nearly  perpendicular,  and  almost  entirely  shutting  ont  the  light  of  day. 


S20     CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSEFVL   KNOWLEDGE. 

Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri  River,  Montana The  Missouri 

Eiver  is  not  only  the  chief  affluent  of  the  Mississippi,  but  the  largest  trib- 
utary stream  in  the  world.  It  is  three  thousand  and  ninety-six  miles  long, 
and  ia  navigable  at  high  water  to  the  Great  Falls,  two  thousand  live  hun- 
dred and  forty  miles  from  the  Mississippi.  The  upper  Missouri  ia  reiuark- 


QBKAT  FALLS  OF  THE  MISSOURI  RIVER,   MONTANA. 

able  for  its  scenery.  At  a  distance  of  four  hundred  and  eleven  miles  fron> 
its  source,  it  flows  through  a  gorge  five  and  three-quarter  miles  in  length, 
between  perpendicular  walls  one  thousand  two  hundred  feet  high  and  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  apart.  At  the  Great  Falls,  one  hundred  and  ten  miles 
below,  the  river  falls  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  feet  in  a  series  ot  rapids 
and  cascades  extending  over  a  distance  of  sixteen  and  one-half  miles. 
The  largest  tall  is  eighty-seven  feet  high,  and  the  scenery  is  full  of 
grandeur. 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED.  221 

The  Yellowstone  Park. — The  Yellowstone  River  rises  in  a  beautiful 
lake  of  the  same  name  high  up  in  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  receiving  nu- 
merous branches  from  the  south,  flows  northeasterly  through  the  territory 
of  Montana,  and  empties  into  the  Missouri  Eiver,  in  the  northwest  part  of 
Dakota  Territory.  It  is  eight  hundred  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  one  thou- 
sand miles  long,  and  navigable  seven  hundred  or  eight  hundred  miles.  The 
region  of  the  Yellowstone  and  its  source  was  for  the  first  time  explored  by 
parties  from  the  United  States  in  1870  and  1871,  and  seems  to  be  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  spots  ou  the  earth.  Making  their  way  up  the  river  through 
the  grand  scenery  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  the  explorers  came  to  a  district 
of  a  square  mile  in  area*,  filled  with  hot  springs  in  active  operation,  which 
cover  the  hillsides  with  snowy  white  deposit  like  a  frozen  cascade.  Three 
or  four  miles  around  were  occupied  by  springs  which  have  ceased  to  flow. 
They  are  about  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  are  much  resorted  to 
by  invalids.  This  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  wonders.  Next  they  came 
to  a  terrific  rift,  two  thousand  feet  in  depth,  with  a  river  rolling  in  its  deeps, 


GREAT  8PBINGS,    YELLOWSTONE  PABK. 

"  a  grand,  gloomy,  terrible  place."  At  the  head  of  this  canon  are  the 
Tower  Falls,  with  a  sheer  descent  of  four  hundred  feet.  The  Grand  Canon, 
however,  throws  this  into  the  shade.  This  fearful  abyss  is  three  thousand 
feet  in  perpendicular  height,  and  to  one  looking  up  from  the  bottom,  stars 
are  visible  in  broad  daylight.  The  ravine  is  full  of  hot  springs  of  sulphur, 
sulphate  of  copper,  alum,  steam  jets  in  endless  variety,  some  of  most  pecul- 
iar form.  The  grandeur  of  the  canon  ia  at  once  heightened  and  diversified 
by  the  Upper  and  Lower  Falls;  the  latter  one  unbroken  symmetrical  ex- 
panse, three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height.  Between  this  fall  and  the 
lake  lies  a  region  full  of  boiling  springs  and  craters,  with  two  hills  three 
hundred  feet  high,  formed  M'holly  of  the  sinter  thrown  from  the  springs,  one 
of  which  is  seventy  feet  long  by  forty  broad.  Still  farther  on  they  came  to 
a  valley  containing  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  geysers,  some  throw- 
ing up  immense  columns  of  water  to  the  height  of  more  than  two  hundred 
feet— a  stupendous  spectacle!  The  lake  from  which  the  river  issues  is 
about  three  hundred  square  miles  in  area,  is  situated  seven  thousand  four 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  is  described 
as  "  the  gem  to  which  all  the  other  wonders  form  the  setting."  In  one  sec- 


222       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

tion  there  is  an  extinct  geyser,  which  from  its  old  eruptions  has  built  up  a 
cone  of  lime  forty-two  feet  high  and  twenty-two  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base. 
This  cone  has  been  called  "  The  Cap  of  Liberty."  The  wonderful  Yellow- 
stone region  has  been  set  apart  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  aa 
a  permanent  public  park,  and  is  called  the  Yellowstone  National  Park. 

Salt  Lake,  Utah. — Four  barrels  of  water  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  will 

leave  after  evapo- 
ration nearly  a 
barrel  of  salt.  The 
lake  was  discov- 
ered in  the  year 
1850,  and  no  outlet 
has  yet  been  as- 
certained. Four  or 
five  large  streams 
empty  themselves 
into  it,  and  the  fact 
of  it  still  retaining 
its  saline  proper- 
ties seems  to  point 
to  the  conclusion 
that  there  exists 
some  secret  saline 
deposits  over 
which  the  waters 
flow,  and  thus  they 
continue  salt — for 
though  the  lake 
may  be  the  residue 
of  an  immense  sea 
which  once  cov- 
ered the  whole  of  that  region,  yet  by  its 
continuing  so  salt,  with  the  amount  of 
fresh  water  poured  into  it  daily,  the  idea 
of  the  existence  of  some  such  deposit  from 
which  it  'receives  its  supply  seems  to  be 
only  too  probable.  There  are  no  fish  in  the 
lake,  but  myriads  of  small  flies  cover  its 
surface.  The  buoyancy  of  the  water  is  so 
great  that  it  is  not  at  all  an  easy  matter 
to  drown  in  it.  The  entire  length  of  Salt 
Lake  is  eighty-five  miles.  Compared  with 
the  Dead  Sea,  Salt  Lake  is  longer  by  forty-three  miles,  and  broader  by 
thirty-five  miles. 

Tlie  Yosemite  Valley. — One  hundred  and  forty  miles  east  of  San 
Francisco,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  thirty  miles  from 
their  summit,  and  at  an  elevation  of  over  four  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  lies  the  pride  of  California,  the  boast  of  the  United 
States,  and  one  of  the  great  wonders  of  the  world— the  Yosemite  Valley. 
It  is  about  the  center  of  the  State,  and  is  a  nearly  level  area  some  six  miles 
long  and  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  wide.  It  is  almost  a  mile  in  perpendicu- 


LTBEBTY  CAP,  YELLOWSTONE  PABK. 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


223 


lar  depth  below  the  general  level  of  the  adjacent  region,  and  is  enclosed  in 
frowning  granite  walls  rising  with  almost  precipitous  faces  to  the  astonishing 
height  of  from  three 
thousand  to  six 
thousand  feet.  From 
the  brow  of  the  prec- 
ipice, here  and  there, 
spring  streams  cf 
water  which  form 
cataracts  of  a  love- 
liness unknown  else- 
where among  moun- 
tain scenery.  The 
unparalleled  charac- 
teristic of  theYosem- 
ite  is  its  incredible 
compactness.  A 1  - 
most  one  single  coup 
d'cett  can  cover  it. 
Within  a  minute 
space  it  encloses  un- 
equaled  wonders. 
It  is  one  vast  flower 
garden;  plants, 
shrubs,  flowers  of 
every  lovely  form 
and  hue  cover  the 
ground  like  a  carpet. 
The  eye  is  dazzled 
with  color.  The  air 
is  heavy  with  fra- 
grance. The  stately 
pines  that  fringe  the 
valley  between  the 
tremendous  cliflfe, 
look  like  daisies  in 
the  midst  of  pines. 
The  warder  of  the 
Valley  ia  the  moun- 
tain El  Capitan. 
Though  not  so  high 
by  half  a  mile  as 
some  of  its  neigh- 
bors, it  is  more  no- 
ticeable from  its  iso- 
lation and  its  per- 
pendicular sides, 
down  which  one 
could  almost  drop  a 
plummet  from  the  top.  It  is  probably  the  most  square-cut  and  imposing 
face  of  rock  in  the  world.  Opposite  El  Capitan  is  that  beautiful  fall,  the 
Bridal  Veil,  where  the  creek  leaps  from  the  sheer  edge  of  the  cliff  nine  hun- 
dred feet  into  the  valley  below,  being  dispersed  in  mist  and  vanishing  in 


GBEAT  GEYSEB,  YELLOWSTONE  PABK. 


224       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


•pray  long  before  it  reaches  its  rocky  bed.  Falling  behind  one  high  shoulder 
of  El  Capitan  is  the  Virgin's  Tears,  dropping  one  thousand  feet.  Not  far 
from  bore  are  the  sculptured  piles  of  granite,  known  as  the  Cathedral  Bock, 
the  Spires,  the  Three  Brothers,  the  Sentinel,  etc.,  rising  like  vast  cathedrals 
to  heaven.  A  little  farther  up  the  valley  are  the 
Yosemite  Falls,  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  this 
scenery,  having  a  total  plunge  of  two  thousand  six 
hundred  feet.  No  falls  in  the  known  world  can  be 
compared  with  these  for  height  and  sublimity.  The 
Halfdome  is  the  loftiest  mountain  of  the  Yosemite 
group  proper,  rising  to  the  height  of  four  thousand 


BBTDAL  VEIL  FALL,  YOSEMITE  VALLEY. 

seven  hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet  above  the  valley,  or  nine  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea.  We  have  not  space  to  enumerate  a  tenth  part  of  the  marvels 
of  this  awe-inspiring  and  romantic  valley,  and  the  only  way  the  tourist  can 
get  an  adequate  conception  of  them  is  by  climbing  some  of  the  numerous 
"  trails  "  that  have  been  worn  in  their  sides  from  bottom  to  top.  This  can 
be  done  on  foot,  or,  by  almost  all  trails,  on  a  mule.  The  bridle-paths  are 
firm  and  well  made. 


THE    WOULD    ILLUSTRATED. 


225 


The  Summit  of  the  Sierras. — The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  have 
been  appropriately  styled  the  California  Alps.  Their  grandeur  is  seen  In 
the  fact  that  throughout  the  extent  of  the  range,  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
there  is  not  a  pass  lower  than  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
It  is  a  grand  and  exciting  ride  on  the  Pacific  Railroad  down  the  Sierras,  from 
Suvimit  to  Colfax;  and  here,  as  at  all  the  passes,  especially  at  the  head, 
the  scenery  is  of  the  wildest  and  grandest  description— lofty  peaks  massed 
together  and  laden  around  their  bases  with  ice  arid  snow;  chains  of  glacier 
lakes,  cascading  Streams  in  endless  variety,  with  glorious  views  eastward 
and  westward.  As  he  proceeds  down  the  mountains  the  eye  of  the  tourist 
is  greeted  with  every  variety  of  mountain  scenery,  giving  a  quick  eucces- 


THE  SUMMIT  OF  THE  SIEKEAS. 

sion  of  magnificent  views  and  striking  contrasts — fearful  chasms  and  tor- 
tuous canons,  towering  peaks,  giant  pines  and  diminutive  manzanitas, 
sparkling  creeks,  rushing  rivers  and  romantic  cascades,  gloomy  gorges 
and  fruit-laden  orchards,  and  woven  through  all  a  new  and  bold  civilization 
— huge  smelting  furnaces,  thundering  quartz  mills,  old  placer  diggings 
and  new  mines  tunneling  the  alabaster.  On  every  hand  we  see  the 
miner's  work.  Long  flumes  carry  off  the  washed  gravel  and  retain  the 
gold;  turbulent  ditches  bear  the  debris  to  the  plains  below;  here  is  a  hose 
playing  against  the  hillside  and  bringing  down  acres  of  "pay  dirt."  All 
is  life,  energy,  activity.  In  a  run  of  fifty  miles  upon  this  railroad  the  descent 
is  more  than  six  thousand  feet. 


226       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Cape  Horn,  in  the  Sierras.— From  the  hoar  the  traveler  leaves 
Omaha  for  California,  he  finds  everything  new,  curious  and  wonderful;  the 
plains,  with  their  buffalo,  antelope  and  prairie  dogs;  the  mountains,  which, 
as  you  approach  Cheyenne,  lift  up  their  glorious  enow-clad  summits;  the 
grim  scenery  of  the  canons  and  gorges;  the  indescribable  loveliness  and 
beauty  of  the  mountain  range  which  shelters  Salt  Lake  City;  the  extended 
alkali  and  sage  brush  plain;  the  snow  sheds  which  protect  the  Central 
Pacific  as  you  ascend  the  Sierras,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the  last  day  of 
your  journey,  the  grand  and  exciting  rush  down  the  Siefras  from  Summit 
to  Colfax,  winding  around  Cape  Horn  and  half  a  hundred  more  precipitous 
cliffs,  down  which  you  look  out  of  the  open  "  observation  car  "as  you  sweep 


CAPE   HORN,   IX  THE  SIERRAS. 

from  a  height  of  seven  thousand  feet  to  a  level  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
feet  in  a  ride  of  two  hours  and  a  half.  A  grander  or  more  exhilarating  ride 
than  this  cannot  be  found  in  the  world,  the  scenery  is  so  varied,  novel 
and  magnificent. 

In  Arctic  Seas. — The  manifestations  of  nature  in  the  Arctic  region  are 
magnificent  and  marvelous.  The  ice  assumes  many  fantastic  shapes,  at 
times  presenting  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  The  interior  of  Greenland  is 
covered  with  ice  and  snow  to  a  great  depth.  This  vast  mass  is  constantly 
moving  towards  the  water,  and  when  it  reaches  the  edge  of  the  land  it 
tumbles  over  into  the  sea,  breaking  off  in  immense  fragments.  Our  illuatra- 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


227 


tion  represents  a  ship  in  danger  of  being  crushed  by  the  iceberg  just 
tumbling  over  into  the  sea. 

The  Catacombs  of  Rome. — The  catacombs  of  Rome  are  believed  to 
be  of  great  antiquity,  they  probably  having  been  hewn  long  before  Romulus 
and  Remus  founded  Rome.  In  the  course  of  time  they  were  extended  so 
that  every  one  of  the  seven  hills  on  which  the  city  stood  was  perforated  aud 
honey-combed  by  passages,  dark  galleries,  low  corridors,  and  vaulted  halls. 
What  greatly  facilitated  the  work  was  the  light  and  soft  nature  of  the 
material  to  be  quarried,  and  the  workmen  were  thus  enabled  to  shape  the 
shafts  and  galleries  as  they  pleased.  As  the  city  grew  in  extent  and  wealth 


IN  ARCTIC  SEAS. 

these  quarries  were  enlarged  and  new  ones  opened.  The  material  was 
used  in  building  houses  and  temples.  But  little  is  to  be  gleaned  from  the 
ancient  writers  as  to  the  uses  to  which  these  subterranean  recesses  were 
put  when  they  ceased  to  be  quarries.  Horace  says  of  the  caverns  under 
the  Esquiline  Hill  that  it  "  was  the  common  sepulchre  of  the  miserable 
plebeians."  The  catacombs  were  crowded  with  the  Christians  during  the 
persecutions  under  Nero,  Domitian,  Trajan,  Adrian,  Severus,  Maximinua 
and  Diocletian,  who  found  there  safety  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Roman 
pagans.  Each  catacomb  forms  a  network  of  passages,  or  galleries,  inter- 
secting each  other  at  right  angles,  but  sometimes  diverging  from  a  common 
center;  these  galleries,  or  passages,  are  usually  about  eight  feet  high?  and, 


228       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KI'          .EDGE. 

from  three  to  five  feet  wide.  The  graved  are  in  tiers  ou  ike  sides,  and  when 
undisturbed  are  found  closed  with  marble  slabs  or  tilea;,  on  which  are  often 
inscriptions  or  Christian  emblems.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  entire 
length  of  the  catacombs  is  not  less  than  five  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  and 
that  they  contain  not  less  than  six  million  bodies.  From  being  the  refuge  of 
persecuted  Christians,  they  became,  about  the  thirteenth  century,  the  hiding 
places  of  outlaws  and  assassins,  who  were,  however,  finally  driven  out  or 


IMC3.   KATKINE. 


the  entrances  to  their  retreats  closed.  Many  interesting  and  valuable  books 
have  been  written  on  the  catacombs,  and  some  hftve  spent  a  lifetime  iu 
investigating  these  wonderful  caverns. 

Loch.  Katrine.— Of  all  the  Scottish  lakes,  BO  famous  in  song  and  story, 
none  is  so  widely  celebrated  as  Loch  Katrine,  which  ia  situated  near  the 
southwest  border  of  Perthshire.  It  ia  eight  miles  iu  length,  and  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  iu  mean  breadth.  Its  greatest  depth  iu  seventy-eight 


THE    WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


229 


fathoms,  and  its  height  above  the  sea  about  three  hundred  and  seventy  feet. 
Its  shape  is  serpentine,  and  displays  great  variety  of  shore  and  background. 
Ben  Venue  and  Ben  An  are  on  its  banks.  It  contains  several  islets,  one  of 
which,  Ellen's  Isle,  is  the  center  of  the  action  of  the  "Lady  of  the  Lake." 
Several  also  of  Wordsworth's  lyrics  were  written  on  subjects  suggested  in 
this  locality.  The  waters  of  the  lake  are  remarkably  pure,  and  it  forms  the 
water  supply  of  the  city  of  Glasgow. 

Edinburgh  Castle. — No  city  in  the  world  is  more  picturesque  than 
Edinburgh.  Its  site  and  structure  combine  to  make  it  unique.  It  is  a  city 
of  hills  and  valleys.  When  you  are  there  everybody  talks  of  the  castle. 


EDINBURGH  CASTLE. 

You  cannot  forget  it  if  you  would,  for  it  dominates  everything  and  is  the 
heart  of  everything.  Castle  Eock,  as  the  site  of  the  Castle  is  called,  is  some 
seven  hundred  feet  in  circumference,  and  on  three  sides  it  is  just  bare  rock, 
so  precipitous  that  foot  of  man  conld  hardly  scale  it.  Accessible  only  on  one 
side,  a  place  more  perfectly  adapted  for  a  fortress  can  scarcely  be 
imagined.  The  old  gray  Castle  itself  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  of 
buildings.  Whether  you  see  it  at  sunrise,  at  high  noon,  in  the  tender 
twilight  time,  or  when  the  pale  moon  visits  it,  it  is'  alike  beautiful; 
but  the  most  impressive  view  is  obtained  at  sunset,  when  the  valley  is  in 
shadow,  the  glow  of  the  setting  sun  resting  on  the  old  gray  Castle,  making 
its  windows  flame  like  opals. 


230       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Melrose  Abbey.— Melrose  is  a  pleasant  village  at  the  foot  of  the 
Eildon  Hills.,  ottthe  south  bank  of  the  Tweed.  It  is  famous  for  the  ruins  of 
its  nobie  Cistercian  Abbey,  founded  by  King  David  I,  in  1136.  The  original 
pile  having  been  destroyed  during  the  wars  of  the  Succession,  the  mon- 
astery began  to  be  rebuilt  about  1326.  The  work  was  helped  by  large 
grants  from  King  Robert  Bruce  and  his  son,  King  David  II,  but  proceeded 
ao  slowly  that  it  was  scarcely  finished  at  the  Reformation,  in  the  middle  of 


;\ 


MELBOSE  ABBEY. 

the  sixteenth  century.  It  was  hi  the  Second  Pointed  style,  with  one  or  two 
approaches  to  Third  Pointed,  and  was  beyond  doubt  the  most  beautiful 
Ltructure  of  which  Scotland  could  boast  in  the  middle  ages.  What  now 
remains  are  the  chief  portions  of  the  conventional  church,  measuring 
two  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet  in  length,  and  some  fragments  of  the 
cloister,  which  would  seem  to  have  been  a  square  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  deep.  The  tracery  and  carvings  are  scarcely  surpassed  by  anj 
in  England. 


THA     WORLD    ILLUSTRATED. 


231 


Alpine  Peak*.— The  famous  Alps,  the  most  extensive  system  of  lofty 
mountains  in  Europe,  raise  their  giant  masses  on  a  basis  of  ninety  thousand 
square  miles.  They  extend  over  the  greater  portion  of  Switzerland,  and 
into  France,  Italy,  Austria  and  Bavaria.  The  highest  peaks  are  Mont  Blanc, 
fifteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  feet;  Monte  Eosa,  fifteen 
thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet,  and  Mont  Cervin,  fourteen  thuu- 


ALPINE  PEAKS. 

sand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet.  The  summits  of  these  mountaima 
are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  In  the  lowlands  of  the  Alpine  region 
there  are  many  beautiful  lakes  and  rivers.  The  scenery  is  wild  and  im- 
pressive, and  thousands  of  travelers  annually  sojourn  in  the  beautiful  Swiss 
villages.  Not  the  least  charm  of  the  locality  is  the  picturesque  life  of  the 
herdsmen  and  farmers,  who  ply  their  vocations  amid  scenes  possessing  a 
grandeur  and  beauty  such  as  no  artist  has  succeeded  in  faithfully  por- 
traying. 


032      CYCLOPEDIA    Of    VSEFVL 

Paris. — "  I  know  no  walks  in  the  world  so  fascinating,"  writes  Louiae 
Chandler  Moultou,  "  as  a  ramble  through  the  Garden  of  the  Tuileries,  across 
the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  and  on  into  the  Champs  Elysees.  I  have  taken 
this  walk  as  a  soft  spring  day  was  drawing  to  its  close.  The  sky  was  all 
rose  and  gold,  and  the  distances  were  softly  purple  in  the  evening  glow. 
There  was  a  charm  in  the  scene,  half-pensive  and  altogether  tender,  which 
I  can  never  put  into  words.  But  it  is  much  gayer  in  the  afternoon.  All  the 
little  out-door  theatres  are  in  full  blast  then,  and  there  are  several  of  them 
in  the  Garden  of  the  Tuileries,  and  several  more  in  the  Champs  Elysees. 
These  theatres  are  for  the  children,  and  the  performers  are  not  people,  but 
marionettes,  or  puppets.  There  is  the  merry-go-round,  too,  with  its  funny 
little  wooden  ponies,  and  its  queer  little  chariots,  and  the  great  strong  Nor- 
man horses  drawing  the  whole  thing.  How  it  carries  me  back  to  a  summer 


OABDEN  OF  THE  TUILEBIES,  PAKIS. 

night  at  Etretat,  and  a  crowd  of  peasants  dancing  a  slow,  fantastic  dance  in 
the  pale  and  fitful  moonlight,  and  pausing  now  and  then  to  take  a  turn  in 
just  such  a  merry-go-round  as  this.  I  think  I  prefer  the  Garden  of  the  Tui- 
leries  and  the  Champs  Elysees  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne;  and  yet  when  I  am 
in  the  Bois,  I  think  I  prefer  that  to  anything  else.  It  is  so  bright  and  gay, 
this  place  which  was  a  noble  forest  till  most  of  the  trees  were  cut  down  in 
the  evil  days  of  1870  and  '71.  But  still  it  is  one  of  the  finest  parks  in  the 
world,  and  between  three  and  four  in  the  afternoon  you  may  see  there  the 
fashion  and  beauty  of  Paris.  There  are  two  artificial  lakes  in  the  Boib,  one 
two-thirds  and  the  other  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  In  the  largest  of 
these  lakes  are  two  islands,  and  on  one  of  them  is  a  cafe,  in  the  form  of  ft 


THE    WOULD    ILLUSTRATED. 


233 


Swiss  chalet.  You  are  taken  from  the  mainland  k>  this  picturesque  cafe  for 
four  cents,  and  you  find  there  all  sorts  of  dainty  temptations  in  the  way  of 
eating  and  drinking.  At  one  end  of  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  is  an  enclosed 
portion  called  the  Jardin  d'Acclimatation,  a  garden  the  purpose  of  which  is 
to  acclimatize  in  France  birds,  animals  and  plants  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe.  The  varieties  of  dogs  alone  seem  endless,  and  as  for  birds,  I  had 
never  dreamed  of  anything  so  various  and  so  beautiful  as  this  collection. 
There  is  a  monkey-house,  and  there  are  carriages  for  children  to  ride  in, 
some  drawn  by  ostriches,  and  others  by  zebras,  and  I  know  not  how  many 
atrange  animals.  Also  there  are  amiable  elephants,  on  whose  backs  you 


CHAMPS  ELYSEES,  PABIS. 

may  ride.  It  was  a  dream  of  delight  to  be  there  even  to  me,  and  I  could 
fancy  what  it  must  be  to  the  children.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  flock  to  it, 
since  it  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  any  spot  on  earth  where  more  is 
combined  to  rejoice  the  wonder-loving,  pleasure-loving  heart  of  childhood." 

Strasburg  and  Its  Cathedral.— The  eminent  city  of  Strasburg,  one 
of  the  most  important  towns  in  what  travelers  sometimes  call  French  Ger- 
many, is  built  on  an  Island  in  the  river  HI,  which  connects  with  the  Ehine. 
Strasburg  is  a  place  of  great  wealth,  and  boasts  of  many  learned  and  chari- 
table institutions,  and  it  has  given  to  the  world  many  eminent  men  in  almost 
every  department  of  knowledge.  But  the  chief  attraction  of  the  city  is  its 
purely  gothic  cathedral,  the  great  spire  of  which  soars  four  hundred  and 
Sixty-eight  feet  in  the  air— the  tallest  spire  in  the  world,  and  in  altitude  but 


234       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 


fourteen  feet  below  the  apex  of  the  pyramid  of  Cheops.  The  towers  and 
spire,  as  well  as  the  body  of  the  building,  are  of  dark-red  sandstone,  which 
is  found  in  abundance  in  the  neighborhood.  Although  hemmed  in  by  nar- 
row streets,  and  tall  houses,  the  Cathedral  does  not  impress  the  reader  with 

heaviness,  and  the 
stonework  of  the 
spire  is  remarkable 
for  the  cleverness  of 
its  carvings,  tra- 
ceries and  beauty  of 
detail.  The  stone  of 
the  spire  is  cut 
rather  to  resemble 
iron  castings  or 
carved  oak  than 
chiseled  stone.  The 
whole  is  carefully 
tied  together  with 
iron  rods,  bars, 
clamps  and  bolts,  so 
as  to  give  it  addi- 
tional strength  to  re- 
sist the  action  of  the 
wind.  Should  it  ever 
fall,  engineers  and 
architects  say  it  will 
be  because  of  an 
earthquake.  The 
western  facade  of 
the  building  is  not 
completed  as  the 
architect  designed  it 
should  be.  He  died 
a  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  building 
was  consecrated. 
Four  centuries  have 
elapsed  since  the 
tower  was  com- 
pleted, and  it  looks 
as  fresh  as  the  day 
the  capstone  was 
put  on  it.  The  in- 
terior of  the  Stras- 
burg  Cathedral  cor- 
responds to  its  ex- 
terior in  finish  and  design.  It  is  celebrated  for  its  magnificent  colored  glass 
windows,  which  were  made  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 

Vesuvius  in  Eruption. — Vesuvius  is  a  celebrated  volcano  of  Italy, 
six  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Naples.  It  has  two  summits.  Its  perpendicular 
height  is  but  three  thousand  seven  hundred  feet,  though  the  ascent  from  the 
base  to  the  summit  comprises  a  distance  of  three  Italian  miles.  One  side  of 


VESUVIUS  IN  ERUPTION. 


TBE    WOULD   ILLUSTRATED.  235 

the  mountain  ia  fertile  and  well  cultivated,  producing  an  abundance  of  vines; 
but  the  south  and  west  sides  are  entirely  covered  with  cinders  and  ashes, 
while  a  sulphurous  smoke  constantly  issues  from  the  top,  sometimes  at- 
tended with  the  most  violent  explosions,  when  huge  stones  and  great  masses 
of  lava  are  emitted.  The  first  eruption  recorded  in  history  took  place  in  the 
year  79.  In  1806  a  violent  eruption  occurred,  when  a  bright  flame  arose 
from  the  mountain  top  to  the  height  of  six  hundred  feet. 

Venice. — Venice  is  a  seaport  city  in  Austrian  Italy.  The  coast  ia  a  long 
and  narrow  belt  of  land,  through  a  number  of  openings  in  which  the  waters 
of  the  Adriatic  make  their  way  between  the  mainland  and  the  belt,  and  form 
a  lagoon  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  long  and  about  five  miles  broad. 


Into  seventy-two  little  islands  in  this  lagoon  piles  have  been  driven,  and  upon 
them  Venice  has  been  built,  so  that  from  any  point  of  view  the  city  seems  to 
be  floating  on  the  water.  The  city  is  a  little  more  than  two  miles  long,  one 
and  a  half  broad,  and  about  six  in  circuit.  It  ia  divided  into  two  unequal 
parts  by  the  Grand  Canal,  which  runs  through  it  in  the  form  of  an  S  re- 
versed; and  it  is  also  traversed  by  one  hundred  and  forty-six  smaller  canals. 
These  canals  are  crossed  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  bridges;  but  over  the 
Grand  Canal  there  is  but  one — the  Eialto.  The  Grand  Canal  varies  in 
breadth,  and  on  both  sides  ia  lined  by  magnificent  buildings,  many  of  them 
immediately  on  the  water's  edge,  so  that  people  step  from  them  into  the 
gondolas,  of  which  there  are  said  to  be  more  than  four  thousand.  The  pub- 
lic buildings  are  splendid  and  numerous.  There  is  but  one  Venice  in  all  the 
world,  and  it  is  a  city  of  enchantment.  Imagine  a  great  populous  city  where 
th«  rumble  of  wheels  is  never  heard,  and  not  a  single  horse  ia  within  it* 
limits.  All  Venice  ia  out  of  doors  as  soon  as  the  suu  has  sett 


236       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNO  Wi.*  1)  &E. 

The  Vatican. — The  word  is  often  used,  but  there  are  many  who  do 
not  understand  its  import.  The  term  refers  to  a  collection  of  buildings  on 
one  of  the  seven  hills  of  Home,  which  covers  a  space  of  one  thousand  two 
hundred  feet  in  length,  and  one  thousand  feet  in  breadth.  It  is  built  on  the 
spot  once  occupied  by  the  garden  of  the  cruel  Nero.  It  owes  its  origin  to 
the  Bishop  of  Borne,  who,  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixth  century,  erected  an 
humble  residence  on  ita  site.  About  the  year  1160,  Pope  Eugenius  rebuilt 
it  on  a  magnificent  scale.  Innocent  II,  a  few  years  afterward,  gave  it  up  ts 
a  lodging  to  Peter  II,  King  of  Aragon.  In  1305  Clement  V,  at  the  instigation 
of  the  King  of  France,  removed  the  Papal  See  from  Eome  to  Avignon,  whera 
the  Vatican  remained  in  a  condition  of  obscurity  and  neglect  for  more  than 
seventy  years.  But  soon  after  the  return  of  the  Pontifical  Court  to  Rome, 
an  event  which  had  been  so  earnestly  prayed  for  by  poor  Petrarch,  and 
Tvhich  finally  took  place  in  1576,  the  Vatican  was  put  in  a  state  of  repair, 
again  enlarged,  and  it  was  thenceforward  considered  as  the  regular  palaca 
and  residence  of  the  popes,  who,  one  after  the  other,  added  fresh  buildings 
to  it,  and  gradually  encircled  it  with  antiquities,  statues,  pictures,  and 
books,  until  it  became  the  richest  depository  in  the  world.  The  library  of 
the  Vatican  was  commenced  one  thousand  four  hundred  years  ago.  It  con- 
tains forty  thousand  manuscripts,  among  which  are  some  by  Pliny,  St. 
Thomas,  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  and  many  Hebrew,  Syrian,  Arabian,  and 
Armenian  Bibles.  The  whole  of  the  immense  buildings  composing  the  Vat- 
ican is  filled  with  statues  found  beneath  the  ruins  of  ancient  Eome,  with 
paintings  by  the  masters,  and  with  curious  medals  and  antiquities  of  almost 
every  description.  When  it  is  known  that  there  have  been  exhumed  more 
than  seventy  thousand  statues  from  the  ruined  temples  and  palaces  of 
Eome,  the  reader  can  form  some  idea  of  the  richness  of  the  Vatican. 

Vienna. — The  capital  of  the  Austrian  Empire  stands  on  a  plain  at  the 
foot  of  the  last  hills  of  the  Wiener  Wald,  which  forms  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  Alps.  East  of  it  extends  a  vast  plain,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  away 
to  the  Carpathians,  which  are  visible  on  a  clear  day  in  the  distance.  An 
arm  of  the  Danube  (called  a  canal)  yassea  along  the  northeast  side  of  tho 
city,  and  separates  it  from  the  suburb  of  Leopoldstadt.  Into  this  arm  flows 
the  stream  called  the  Wien,  from  which  the  city  takes  ita  name.  Vienna 
consists  of  the  old  city  or  inner  town,  called  the  Sladt,  with  narrow  and  ir- 
regular streets,  and  of  a  circle  of  suburbs,  nine  in  number,  completely  sur- 
rounding it.  Around  the  Stadl,  and  separating  it  from  the  suburbs,  is  a  ring 
space  upon  which  were  formerly  the  fortifications,  leveled  in  1858.  This 
space  is  now  being  rapidly  covered  with  buildings,  of  which  the  principal 
form  part  of  the  Ringstrasse,  a  handsome  boulevard,  in  many  places  seventy 
yards  wide.  Unlike  most  other  European  cities,  the  old  part  of  the  city  ia 
the  most  fashionable.  In  the  titadt  are  the  palaces  of  the  emperor  and  of 
eorne  of  the  principal  nobility,  many  stately  mansions,  the  public  offices, 
the  finest  churches,  most  of  the  museums  and  public  collections,  the  col- 
leges, the  exchange,  and  the  best  stores.  The  suburbs  are  laid  out  in  wide 
streets,  many  of  which,  being  unpaved,  are  extremely  dusty  in  summer  and 
very  muddy  hi  winter.  As  a  rule,  the  houses  are  let  in  "  flats,"  almost  tho 
only  exception  to  this  being  the  palaces  of  the  higher  nobility;  and  in  somo 
cases  even  these  consist  only  of  the  two  lower  stories  of  the  building.  Among 
the  principal  squares  are  the  Josephsplatz  and  the  Burghof  (the  latter  the 
court  of  the  palace) ,  the  outer  Hurgplatz,  in  which  Stands,  the  JJurgthor,  th« 
Newr  Maria,  am  ffvf*  and,  Freiung, 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFAC- 
TURES. 


Printing. — The  art  of  printing  from  movable  types  is  of  comparatively 
modern  origin,  only  four  hundred  years  having  elapsed  since  the  first  book 
printed  in  this  manner  was  issued  from  the  press.  The  ancients  printed 
from  engraved  blocks,  and  this  method  is  preserved  by  the  Chinese  to  this 
day.  The  credit  of  discov- 
ering the  simple  yet  mar- 
velous art  of  printing  from 
movable  types  is  contested 
by  the  Dutch  in  favor  of 
Lawrence  Coster,  between 
1420  and  1426,  and  by  the 
Germans  on  behalf  of  Jo- 
fa  an  n  Gutenberg.  The 
types  first  employed  were 
of  wood,  but  soon  the  prac- 
tice of  casting  them  in  metal 
was  introduced.  Guten- 
berg succeeded  in  printing 
a  Bible  between  1450  and 
1455. 

All  the  types  used  in 
printing  offices  are  sorted 
in  cases,  or  shallow  boxes, 
with  divisions.  These  are 
of  two  kinds — the  upper  and 
lower  case,  the  latter  lying 
nearest  to  the  compositor.  In  the  upper  case  are  placed  all  the  capitals, 
imall  capitals,  accented  letters,  a  few  of  the  points,  and  characters  used  as 
references.  In  the  lower  case  are  all  the.  small  letters,  figures,  the  remain- 
der of  the  points  and  spaces  to  place  between  the  words.  In  the  lower,  no 
alphabetical  arrangement  is  preserved;  each  letter  has  a  larger  or  smaller 
box  allotted  to  it  according  as  it  is  more  or  less  frequently  required,  and  all 
those  letters  most  in  request  are  placed  at  the  nearest  convenient  distance 
to  the  compositor.  Placing  the  copy  or  manuscript  before  him  on  the  upper 
case,  and  standing  in  front  of  the  lower  case,  the  compositor  holds  in  his  left 
hand  a  little  iron  tray  called  a  composing  stick.  One  by  one  he  lifts  and 
puts  the  letters  of  each  word  and  sentence,  and  the  appropriate  points  and 
spaces,  into  his  stick,  securing  each  with  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand,  and 
placing  them  side  by  side  from  lett  to  right  along  the  line.  On  reaching  the 
end  of  a  line  he  rearranges  the  spaces,  so  as  to  make  it  exactly  full  and  se- 
cure a  uniform  separation  of  the  words.  When  the  workman  has  set  up  as 
m,anv  liuee  as  his  stick  will  bold,  he  lifts,  them  out  and  places  them  upon  a.Q 


COMPOSITOR  AT  "WOKE. 


238      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

elongated  tray  called  a  gattey,  and  when  the  galley  is  full  an  impression  or 
proof  of  the  types  is  taken,  which  goes  to  the  proof-reader,  whose  duty  it  ia 
to  mark  upon  the  margins  thereof  such  errors  as  may  have  been  made  by 
the  compoeitor.  After  these  have  been  corrected,  the  matter  is  divided 


into  pages  of  the  desired  size,  head-lines  and  numerals  are  added,  the  pages 
are  secured  in  an  iron  frame  or  chase,  and,  after  the  matter  is  again  care- 
fully read  and  corrected,  the/orm  is  ready  for  the  pressman  or  electrotypcr. 
as  the  case  may  be. 

I»  no  department  of  human  industry  has  tiiero  been  a  more  signal  a.(\- 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MAN  UFA  CT  TIRES. 


239 


vanctment  than  in  the  manufacture  of  the  printing  press,  and  the  improved 
newspaper  press  of  the  present  day  would  seem  to  be  well-nigh  perfect. 
To  attempt  a  description  of  the  many  and  various  kinds  of  presses  in  use 
for  the  different  styles  of  printing  would  be  quite  impossible  within  the 
limits  allotted  to  this  article,  but  the  operation  of  a  modern  newspaper 


printing  machine  may  be  thus  briefly  described:  A  reel  of  tightly-rolled 
paper,  just  as  it  leaves  the  mill,  is  placed  at  one  end  of  the  machine,  ia 
clamped  while  passing  between  small  cylinders,  and  is  then  led  between  tho 
first  and  second  of  four  cylinders,  placed  one  above  the  others  where  it  re- 
ceives, its  first  impression  from  tlie  stereotype  cast  of.  th.e  first  cylinder,  Th.9 


240       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

paper  then  returns  backward  between  the  second  and  third  cylinders;  and 
passing  forward  again  between  the  third  and  fourth,  receives  on  its  other 
side  the  second  impression  from  the  stereotype  plates  of  the  lowest  cylinder. 
The  roll  is  next  cut  into  sheets,  and  the  sheets  numbered  by  an  index. 
Carried  up  to  the  top  of  the  machine,  the  sheet  descends  perpendicularly, 


and  is  thrown  alternately  backwards  and  forwards  on  to  boards  held  by 
two  lads.  These,  with  the  striker,  who  starts  the  ma-chine,  are  the  sole 
attendants  necessary.  The  paper  travels  at  the  rate  of  one  thousand  feet 
per  minute,  and  the  finished  sheets  are  delivered  a,t  tUe  rate  of  twelve 
thousand  copies  and  upwards  per  hour, 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES. 


241 


Stereotyping. — The  art  of  fabricating  metal  plates  resembling  pages 
of  type,  from  which  impressions  may  be  taken  as  in  letter-press  printing,  is 
termed  stereotyping.  This  process  is  not  employed  where  only  a  definite 
and  moderate  number  of  impressions  of  any  work  are  required.  Its  chief 
value  consists  in  its  availableness  for  future  impressions  contingent  on  the 
renewed  demand  for  copies;  but  it  is  also  of  importance  in  duplicating  the 
means  of  taking  large  impressions  quickly.  Briefly  the  process  is  as  follows: 
The  page  of  type  is  laid  on  a  smooth  iron  table,  face  upward;  a  little  fine  oil 
in  brushed  over  it,  to  prevent  the  liquid  stucco  from  adhering;  the  stucco  to 
the  consistency  of  cream  is  now  poured  over  the  face  of  the  page,  and 
straightened  over  it  in  the  process  of  hardening;  when  hardened,  the  oake 
of  stucco  is  lifted  off,  and  is  seen 
to  be  a  perfect  mold  of  the  types. 
The  cake  is  now  baked  in  an 
oven,  and  then  placed  in  an  iron 
pan;  the  pan,  which  has  inlets  at 
the  upper  side,  is  plunged  into 
molten  metal,  which  soon  runs 
into  the  mold;  being  lifted  out 
and  cooled,  the  pan  isopenedand 
found  to  contain  a  plate  resem- 
bling the  page  of  type;  the  mold 
is  broken  and  of  no  further  use. 
When  removed  from  the  pan, 
the  plate  is  rough,-  and  needs  to 
¥e  trimmed  for  working;  for  this 
purpose,  it  passes  through  the 
hands  of  artisans,  who  prepare 
it  for  the  press.  The  paper 
mache  process,  wherein  the 
mold  is  made  of  damp  paper, 
is  much  quicker  than  the  above, 
and  is  that  in  use  in  daily  news- 
paper offices.  In  electrotyping 
the  mold  is  taken  in  wax, 
coated  with  plumbago,  and  into  SEWING  BOOKS. 

this  a  film  of  copper  is  precipi- 
tated by  a  battery.    The  face  of  an  electrotype  is  therefore  of  copper,  and 
it  is  much  more  durable  than  the  stereotype. 

Bookbinding — The  first  operation  in  bookbinding  is  to  fold  the  sheets, 
by  means  of  a  small  instrument  called  a  folder.  The  object  is  to  fold  down 
the  different  pages  so  as  to  fall  on  one  another;  and  on  the  perfect  accuracy 
with  which  this  is  performed  depends  the  proper  binding  of  the  book.  After 
being  folded,  the  sheets  of  the  book  are  gathered  and  collated  according  to  the 
"  signatures,"  A,  B,  etc.,  which  are  printed  at  the  bottom  of  the  first  page  of 
each  sheet.  The  books  so  made  up  and  completed,  are  now  pressed  to  a 
proper  solidity,  by  being  placed  in  quantities  in  a  hydraulic  press.  The 
next  process  is  to  saw  indentations  in  the  back  of  the  book,  preparatory  to 
sewing.  The  books  are  next  sewed  on  a  frame,  each  sheet  being  attached 
by  a  thread  to  cords  across  the  back.  The  sewing,  though  sometimes  done 
by  a  machine,  is  chiefly  executed  by  girls.  On  beiug  removed  from  the 
sewing-frame,  the  book  receives  its  "  waste-papers,"  which  are  pasted  to  the 


242        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

back  on  each  Bide.  The  book  is  now  "  trimmed,"  by  being  cut  on  the  edges 
with  a  knife-apparatus.  The  books  are  next  glued  on  the  back,  to  impart  a 
certain  degree  of  firmness.  After  this,  they  are  "backed"  by  means  of  a 
machine,  which  imparts  a  certain  roundness  to  the  back,  and  at  the  same 
tune  gives  a  seat  for  the  boards.  The  book,  with  a  slip  of  canvas  pasted  on 
the  back,  is  now  ready  for  receiving  the  boards,  which  are  previously  cut  in 
large  quantities  by  a  machine.  The  preparing  and  attaching  of  the  cover 
forms  the  final  stage  of  the  process.  For  the  whole  of  the  class  of  boarded 
books  we  have  been  describing,  there  is  a  method  of  making  "  cases."  A 
case  consists  of  cloth  or  paper  pasted  on  two  boards,  the  distance  of  the 
boards  from  each  other  being  equal  to  the  thickness  of  the  book.  The  case 
being  finished,  receives  the  book,  to  which  it  is  attached  chiefly  by  pasting 
it  to  the  canvas  of  the  back  and  the  blank  or  waste  paper  on  each  side. 
When  it  is  deemed  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  attractiveness,  to  stamp  a  pe- 
culiar device  on  the  covers  of  a  book,  of  which  thousands  are  required,  the 
design  is  referred  to  an  artist,  who,  devoting  himself  to  this  branch  of  his 
profession,  devises  something  appropriate  and  original.  His  design,  drawn 
on  paper,  is  cut  in  brass  or  steel;  and  this,  in  the  form  of  a  metal  block, 

gives  the  stamp 
at  a  blow  by  the 
arming-p  r  e  s  s . 
When  the  de- 
sign is  to  be 
gilt,  leaf-gold  is 
previously  ap- 
plied. 


Wood  En- 
graving.-The 

wood  used  for 
engraving  is 
boxwood,  near- 
ly all  of  which 
WOOD  ENGBAVTOG.  is  importedfrom 

Turkey.      It  is 

cut  across  the  grain  in  slices,  which  are  dressed  to  the  same  height  as  type, 
for  convenience  hi  printing.  When  blocks—  as  the  pieces  of  wood  are  termed 
— are  required  of  a  larger  size  than  a  few  inches  square,  it  is  necessary  to 
join  two  or  more  pieces  together,  as  the  amount  of  sound  wood  to  be  got  out 
of  even  a  large  slice  is  extremely  limited.  There  is,  however,  for  all  practi- 
eal  purposes,  no  limit  to  the  joining  process,  as  blocks  have  been  printed 
consisting  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  pieces.  The  wood  having  been  made 
very  smooth  on  the  surface,  and  squared  to  the  required  size,  is  prepared 
for  the  artist  by  being  covered  with  a  preparation  of  white  (commonly 
water-color  Chinese  white);  this  gives  a  very  good  surface  for  the  pencil  to 
work  on.  The  subject  is  then  drawn  in  the  ordinary  way,  the  tints  being 
generally  washed  in  with  India-ink,  and  the  details  filled  in  with  pencil. 
When  the  drawing  is  finished,  it  is  given  to  the  ehgraver,  who,  previous  to 
commencing,  carefully  covers  the  block  with  paper,  fastened  round  the 
edges  with  beeswax;  this  is  necessary,  to  avoid  rubbing  the  drawing  out  in 
the  process.  As  the  engraving  proceeds,  he  gradually  tears  the  paper  off. 
The  tools  or  gravers  necessary  in  wood  engraving  are  of  three  kinds — viz., 
gravers  proper,  tint-tools,  and  acoopers  or  cutting  out  tools,  for  clearing  out 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES. 


243 


the  larger  pieces.  They  are  arranged  in  different  sizes,  to  suit  the  different 
portions  of  the  work.  Most  engravers  use  a  glass  of  slight  magnifying 
power,  more  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  the  eyes  from  the  strain  of  fixing 
both  eyes  closely  on  a  small  object,  than  for  magnifying  the  work.  When 
the  drawing  is  in  outline,  or  mostly  so,  the  engraving  is  very  simple:  the 
process  consists  of  engraving  a  line  along  each  side  of  the  pencil  lines, 
which  are,  of  course,  to  bo  left  in  relief,  and  afterwards  cutting  out  the  pieces 
between.  It  will  thus  be  understood  that  every  part  of  a  wood-cut  which 
prints  on  the  paper  is  the  surface  of  the  wood  left  untouched,  and  that  every 
white  part  is  cut  or  hollowed  out.  When  it  is  complicated  with  much  shad- 
ing, trees,  etc.,  it  becomes  much  more  difficult,  and  brings  into  play  the  ar- 
tistic talents  of  the  engraver  to  preserve  the  proper  shades,  or  color  as 
it  is  technically 
termed,  and  texture 
of  the  different  ob- 
jects. 

Copper  -  Plate 
Printing — In  all 

engraving  upon 
metal  plates  the 
traces  or  marks 
which  are  to  appear 
on  the  paper  are  cut 
or  sunk  into  the 
plate.  Copper-plates 
are  ready  for  press 
as  soon  as  they  are 
finished  by  the  en- 
graver. The  method 
of  printing  from 
them  is  very  simple. 
Their  engraved  sur- 
face is  daubed  over 
with  a  thick  oleagin- 
ous ink,  so  that  the 
lines  are  effectually 


COPPER-PLATE    PRINTING. 


filled.  As  this  dirties  the  whole  face  of  the  plate,  it  is  necessary  to  clean  it, 
which  is  done  by  the  workman  wiping  it  first  with  a  piece  of  cloth,  and  then 
with  the  palms  of  his  hands,  rubbed  on  fine  whiting.  It  may  be  calculated 
that  a  hundred  times  more  ink  is  thus  removed  than  actually  remains  in  the 
indentations;  however,  such  is  necessary.  The  plate  being  thoroughly 
cleaned,  it  is  laid  on  a  press  with  a  piece  of  damped  paper  over  it;  and  be- 
ing wound  beneath  a  roller  covered  with  blanket-stuff,  it  is  forced  to  yield 
an  impression  on  the  paper.  The  plate  requires  to  be  kept  at  a  moderate 
warmth  during  the  operation. 

Lithography — The  art  of  printing  from  stone  was  invented  by  Aloys 
Senefelder,  at  Munich,  about  the  end  of  the  18th  century.  It  consists,  first. 
in  writing  and  drawing  on  the  stone  with  the  pen  and  brush,  with  the  graverj 
and  with  the  crayon  or  chalk,  or  in  transferring  to  the  stone  writings  and 
drawings  made  with  the  pen  or  brush  on  transfer  paper,  or  impressions 
from  copper,  steel,  and  pewter  plates,  taken  on  a  coated  paper,  and  then  in 


244       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

printing  off  from  the  stone  the  writings  or  drawings  thus  made  upon  it.  The 
principles  of  the  art  are  these:  An  unctuous  composition  having  been  made 
to  adhere  to  a  calcareo-argillaceous  stone,  those  parts  covered  by  it — i.  e.t 
the  writing  or  drawing— acquire  the  power  ot  receiving  printing  ink,  whereas 
those  parts  not  containing  the  writing  or  drawing  are  prevented  from  receiv- 
ing ink  from  the  inking  roller  by  the  interposition  of  water;  and  lastly,  an 
absorbent  paper  being  laid  on  the  stone,  and  subjected  to  strong  pressure, 
copies  are  obtained.  When  any  writing  or  drawing  has  been  finished  on 
stone,  it  then  requires  to  be  etched,  thus:  a  mixture  of  two  parts  of  nitric 
acid,  and  from  forty  to  sixty  parts  of  dissolved  gum  arabic,  is  poured  over 
the  stone  once  or  several  times,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  work.  The 
etching  changes  the  surface  of  the  stone,  raising  the  work  on  it  to  a  degree 
scarcely  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye.  The  writing  or  drawing,  which  has 
been  effected  by  greasy  ink  or  chalk,  remains  protected  from  the  action  of 
the  acid,  and  those  protected  parts  retain  the  natural  property  of  the  stone, 
which  is  the  qualification  of  receiving  printing  ink;  and,  when  the  printer 
wets  the  stone  before  applying  the  hiking  roller,  the  water  enters  only  those 
parts  of  the  stone  which  have  been  affected  by  the  acid,  while  the  ink  ad- 
heres only  to  those  parts,  however  fine,  on  which  the  acid  could  not  operate, 
owing  to  the  unctuous  composition  of  the  ink  or  chalk  with  which  the 
drawing  or  writing  has  been  done,  and  which,  being  greasy,  rejects  the 
water.  When  the  drawing  or  wi~Uing  with  ink  on  a  polished  stone  is  com- 
pleted, the  etching  is  proceeded  with,  and  a  portion  of  the  etching  composi- 
tion allowed  to  dry  on  the  stone.  The  printer  then  adjusts  his  stone  in  the 
press,  washes  off  the  dried  gum,  removes  the  whole  drawing  or  writing  with 
turpentine,  wets  the  stone  with  a  sponge  or  damping  canvas,  then  applies 
his  roller  containing  the  printing  ink,  and  rolls  it  several  times  over  the 
atone  till  the  lines  appear  again.  When  sufficient  ink  has  been  applied  to 
the  lines,  the  paper  is  laid  on  the  stone,  drawn  through  the  press,  and  the 
impression  effected.  The  damping  and  inking  of  the  stone  are  renewed  for 
every  impression.  Tinted  drawings,  chromo-lithography  and  colored  maps 
require  as  many  stones  as  there  are  various  tints  or  colors,  one  stone  being 
printed  after  the  other,  and  so  fitted  and  blended  together  as  to  produce, 
when  complete,  the  effect  desired. 

Photography. — The  honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  produce  pictures 
by  the  action  of  light  on  a  sensitive  surface  is  now  very  generally  conceded 
to  Thomas  Wedgwood,  an  account  of  whose  researches  was  published  in 
1802  in  the  "  Journal  of  the  Eoyal  Institution,"  under  the  title,  "  An  Account 
of  a  Method  of  Copying  Paintings  upon  Glass,  and  of  making  Profiles  by  the 
Agency  of  Light  upon  Nitrate  of  Silver;  with  Observations  by  H.  Davy."  In 
the  experiments  detailed  in  this  communication,  white  paper  and  white 
leather  were  imbued  with  nitrate  of  silver,  and  exposed  either  in  the  camera 
obacura,  or  under  the  leaves  of  trees  or  wings  of  insects.  The  result  was, 
that  the  shadows  preserved  the  parts  concealed  by  them  white,  while  the 
*ther  parts  became  speedily  darkened.  The  misfortune  was,  that  no 
attempts  made  either  by  Wedgwood  or  Davy  to  prevent  the  uncolored  por- 
tions from  being  acted  on  b"  light  (or,  as  we  now  say,  to  Jlx  the  picture), 
were  successful.  This  operation  was  not  effected  in  a  thoroughly  efficient 
manner  until  Sir  John  Herschel  suggested  the  employment  of  hyposulphite 
of  soda  for  that  purpose.  Many  other  fixing  agents  had  been  previously 
used,  as  ammonia,  iodide  of  potassium,  chloride  of  sodium,  and  bromide  of 
potassium,  suggested  by  Mr.  Fox  Tulbot;  none  of  these,  however,  were 


VSEFJ7L    ARTS    A  XV    M  A  NIT  FA  C  TUBES.          24£ 

found  equal  to  the  salt  proposed  and  successfully  used  by  Sir  John 
Herschel. 

M.  Niepce,  of  Chalon-on-the-Saone,  was  tthe  first  to  enjoy  the  satisfaction 
oi  producing  permanent  pictures  by  the  influence  of  solar  radiations.  This 
was  accomplished  in  1814,  and  the  name  chosen  to  designate  his  process  was 
heliography — a  name  in  some  respects  preferable  to  photography.  It  con- 
sisted in  coating  a  piece  of  plated  silver  or  glass  with  a  varnish  made  by 
dissolving  powdered  asphaltum  to  saturation  in  oil  of  lavender,  taking  care 
that  the  drying  and  setting  of  this  varnish  be  allowed  to  take  place  in  the 
entire  absence  of  light  and  moisture.  The  plate  so  prepared  was  then 
exposed  in  the  camera  obscura  for  a  length  of  time,  varying  from  four  to  six 
hours,  according  to  the  amount  of  light.  A  faint  image  only  is  at  first 
visible,  and  this  is  afterward  developed  and  fixed  by  immersion  in  a  mixture 
of  oil  of  lavender  and  oil  of  white  petroleum;  the  plate  bemg  finally  washed 
with  water,  and  dried.  Light  has  little  or  no  action  on  these  heliographs; 
they  should,  however,  be  protected  from  moisture.  M.  Daguerre  improved 
on  this  process,  by  suggesting  the  use  of  the  resins  obtained  by  evaporating 
oil  of  lavender,  whereby  a  great  increase  of  sensibility  was  secured. 

Adopting  date  of  publication  as  the  best  evidence  of  discovery,  the  next 
process  offering  itself  for  consideration  is  that  for  photogenic  drawing  by 
Mr.  Henry  Fox  Talbot,  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society  on  the  31st  Jan- 
nary,  1839,  just  six  months  previous  to  the  publication  of  Daguerre's  pro- 
cess. It  consisted  in  immersing  carefully  selected  writing  paper  in  a  weak 
solution  of  common  salt,  and  drying  it.  After  this  a  dilute  solution  of  nitrate 
of  silver  was  spread  over  one  side,  and  the  paper  again  dried  at  the  fire. 
When  dry,  it  was  fit  for  use,  the  sensitiveness  being  much  increased  by 
alternate  treatment  with  saline  and  argentine  solutions.  Paper  thus  pre- 
pared yielded  impressions  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  and  nothing  could  be 
more  perfect  than  the  images  it  gave  of  leaves  and  flowers,  the  light  passing 
through  the  leaves  delineating  every  ramification  of  their  nerves.  Consid- 
erable improvement  in  point  of  sensibility  was  attained  by  Mr.  Talbot  in  the 
following  year,  1840,  by  the  employment  of  iodide  of  silver  on  paper,  as  a 
foundation,  to  be  washed  over  with  a  mixture  of  aceto-nitrate  and  gallo- 
nitrate  of  silver,  just  previous  to  exposure  in  the  camera.  Paper  so  prepared 
was  so  sensitive  that  an  exposure  of  less  than  a  second  to  diffused  light  was 
enough  to  produce  an  impression.  After  exposure  and  development,  the 
picture  was  washed,  and  fixed  by  immersion  in  a  solution  of  bromide  of 
potassium. 

Niepce  and  Daguerre  accidentally  discovered  that  they  were  conducting 
experiments  of  a  kindred  character,  and  shortly  afterward  entered  into  a 
partnership.  The  former,  however,  dying  in  July,  1833,  a  new  deed  of  part- 
nership was  signed  between  his  son  Isidore  and  M.  Daguerre,  which  resulted 
in  the  publication,  in  July,  1839,  of  the  process  known  as  the  Daguerreotype. 
This  was  not  done,  however,  until  the  French  government  had  passed  a  bill, 
securing  to  M.  Daguerre  a  pension  of  six  thousand  francs,  and  to  M.  Isidore 
Niepce,  the  son  of  tlie  Niepce,  a  pension  of  four  thousand  francs,  both  for 
life,  and  one-half  in  reversion  to  their  widows.  This  handsome  conduct  on 
the  part  of  the  French  government  was  based  upon  the  argument,  that  "  the 
invention  did  not  admit  of  being  secured  by  patent,  since,  as  soon  as  pub- 
lished, all  might  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages; "  they,  therefore,  chose 
to  enjoy  "  the  glory  of  endowing  the  world  of  science  and  of  art  with  one  of 
the  most  surprising  discoveries  that  honor  their  native  land." 

The  discovery  of  the  Daguerreotype  may  be  said  to  have  arisen  from  the 


246      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

dissatisfaction  entertained  by  Daguerre  with  the  insensibility  of  the  bitu- 
minous surfaces  of  Niepce,  which  induced  him  to  turn  his  attention  to  the 
salts  of  silver  as  a  means  of  producing  a  higher  degree  of  sensitiveness.  This 
he  attained  by  exposing  a  highly  polished  plate  of  silver  (attached  for 
greater  strength,  to  a  copper  plate)  to  the  vapor  of  iodine,  by  which  pure 
iodide  of  silver  was  formed  on  the  surface.  The  plate  so  prepared  was  ex- 
posed in  the  camera  obscura  for  a  length  of  time  (twenty  minutes),  which 
was  then  considered  very  short.  No  apparent  effect  was  produced  on  the 
plate,  the  image  being  a  latent  one,  arising  from  a  minute  molecular  dis- 
turbance caused  by  the  impact  of  the  actinic  rays.  The  latent  image  was 
afterward  developed  by  exposing  the  plate  to  the  vapor  of  mercury:  and  it  is 
this  development  of  a  latent  image,  reducing  as  it  did  the  time  of  exposure 
from  hours  to  minutes,  which  truly  constituted  a  new  era  in  the  science  of 
photography.  It  is  further  due  to  Daguerre  to  state,  that,  while  his  pro- 
cesses for  the  purpose  were  imperfect,  he  still  succeeded  in  fixing  his 
pictures,  although  it  was  reserved  for  Sir  John  Herschel  to  announce  the 
great  suitability  of  the  hyposulphites  for  dissolving  the  haloid  salts  of  silver. 
The  sensibility  of  the  silver  plate  was  still  further  increased  by  Mr.  God- 
dard,  who  suggested,  in  1839,  the  association  of  the  vapor  of  bromine  with 
that  of  iodine;  while  M.  Claudet,  in  1840,  employed  chlorine.  It  is  a  remark- 
able fact  in  connection  with  these  discoveries,  that  the  elder  Niepce  should, 
so  early  as  1820,  have  tried  the  treatment  of  silver  plates  with  the  vapor  of 
sulphur  and  phosphorus. 

But  the  progress  of  this  interesting  science  received  a  very  important 
impulse  from  a  discovery,  which  at  first  scarcely  appeared  to  have  any  con- 
nection therewith.  In  1833,  Braconnot  gave,  in  the  "  Annales  de  Chimie," 
an  account  of  a  new  substance  obtained  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on 
starch,  sawdust,  linen  and  cotton-wool.  He  named  this  substance  Xyloidine; 
it  was  very  combustible,  and  burned  almost  without  residue.  In  1838, 
Pelouze,  in  the  "  Comptes  Kendues,"  suggested  its  application  in  artillery. 
He  says,  "  Plunge  paper  in  nitric  acid  (specific  gravity  1'500),  leave  it  in  for 
two  or  three  minutes,  and  wash:  a  kind  of  parchment  is  obtained,  imperme- 
able to  moisture,  and  extremely  combustible."  Dumas,  in  1843,  proposed 
the  name  Nitramidine,  and  suggested  its  use  for  fireworks.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  British  Association  held  at  Southampton  hi  the  year  1846,  Herr 
Schonbein,  an  eminent  Prussian  chemist,  read  a  paper  on  the  preparation  of 
explosive  cotton,  a  substance  obtained  by  acting  on  ordinary  carded  cotton 
by  a  mixture  of  strong  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids.  This  explosive  cotton 
was  afterward  found  to  be  soluble  in  ether;  and  the  solution  so  prepared 
was  named  collodion  by  its  discoverer,  Mr.  Maynard,  who,  in  1848,  pub- 
lished in  the  "  American  Journal  of  Medical  Science  "  the  formula  for  its 
preparation.  This  ethereal  solution  having  a  certain  proportion  of  alkaline 
iodides  and  iodide  of  silver  added  thereto,  constituted  the  collodion  first 
employed  by  Mr.  Archer,  who,  although  deserving  the  credit  of  having  first 
arranged  a  practicable  working  process  with  collodion  for  its  basis,  without 
which  photography  could  not  have  attained  its  present  high  position,  says, 
in  the  second  edition  of  his  "  Manual,"  "  It  is  due  to  Le  Gray  to  say  that  he 
was  the  first  to  publish  an  account  of  collodion  as  a  photographic  agent; " 
thus  illustrating  the  candor  with  which  Mr.  Archer  admitted  his  claim  to  be 
considered  the  first  to  suggest  its  value  in  photography.  Mr.  Fallon  Horn 
and  Mr.  Frye  materially  assisted  Mr.  Archer  in  bringing  his  experiments  to 
perfection.  Although  the  announcement  at  the  British  Association  in  1846, 
was  to  the  effect  that  Schonbein  had  made  cotton  as  explosive  as  gunpowder, 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES.  247 

no  particulars  were  published.  In  April,  1847,  he  obtained  a  patent;  but  in 
October,  1846,  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor  had  published  a  similar  method  to  that 
patented.  By  one  of  those  singular  freaks  of  fortune  which  sometimes 
occur,  Daguerre  succeeded  in  identifying  his  name  with  his  process;  but 
Mr.  Archer  was  not  so  fortunate  as  to  give  his  name  to  the  process  which  he 
invented.  The  sensitive  surface  is  obtained  by  the  conversion  of  the  soluble 
iodides  and  bromides  in  the  collodion  film  into  iodide  and  bromide  of  silver 
by  immersion  in  a  solution  of  the  nitrate  cf  that  base,  and  it  is  exposed  in 
the  camera  while  still  moist  with  adherent  nitrate,  the  latent  image  so  ob- 
tained being  developed  with  a  mixture  of  protosulphate  of  iron,  acetic  acid, 
and  alcohol,  fixed  with  hyposulphite  or  soda,  and  varnished. 

In  the  Niepcotype  or  albumen  process,  glass  plates  of  proper  thickness 
and  quality,  and  perfectly  clean,  are  coated  with  albumen,  to  which  an 
alkaline  iodide  has  been  added.  When  perfectly  dry,  they  are  immersed  in 
a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver,  when  an  immediate  decomposition  takes  place; 
iodide  of  silver  being  formed  in  the  albumen  film,  and  nitrate  of  potash  or 
ammonia  remaining  in  solution.  The  plate  is  then  freely  washed  with 
water,  dried,  exposed,  developed  with  gallic  acid,  and  fixed  with  hyposul- 
phite of  soda. 

A  retrospective  glance  will  show  the  reader  that  four  processes  have  now 
been  passed  in  review;  and  on  a  little  consideration,  it  will  be  seen  that  one 
principle  pervades  the  whole — viz.,  the  production  of  a  latent  image  by  the 
action  of  light  on  iodide  and  bromide  of  silver,  its  subsequent  development  by 
suitable  means,  and  the  final  removal  of  the  unaltered  portions  of  the  sensi- 
tive film  by  &  fixing  agent. 

Among  these  processes,  that  in  which  collodion  is  employed  has  achieved 
a  well-merited  distinction,  and  is  now  so  generally  employed,  as  almost  en- 
tirely to  exclude  the  others.  Various  modifications  of  this  process  have 
been  from  time  to  time  suggested  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  landscape  pho- 
tography. It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  collodion  film  ie  exposed  while 
still  moist  with  adherent  nitrate  of  silver  solution;  and  this  method  is 
especially  applicable  to  the  taking  of  portraits,  where  it  is  desired  to  reduce 
the  time  of  exposure  to  a  minimum;  but  for  landscape  purposes,  it  is  by  no 
means  so  imperatively  necessary  to  curtail  the  time  of  exposure;  and  as  the 
necessary  apparatus  and  materials  for  sensitizing  and  developing  a  wet  plat* 
are  somewhat  cumbrous  for  field  work,  it  was  suggested  by  the  Abbe  De- 
spratz  to  wash  off  the  free  nitrate  from  the  surface,  and  allow  the  film  to  dry 
in  the  absence  of  light.  This  is  called  the  "  Dry  Collodion  Process."  A 
plate  so  prepared  is,  however,  much  less  sensitive  to  light.  A  variety  of 
agents  have  been  used  to  preserve  the  film,  such  as  sugar,  albumen,  malt, 
tannin,  etc. 

The  practice  of  photography  in  the  present  day  is  confined  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  Positive,  the  Negative,  and  the  Dry  Collodion  Processes. 
The  first  and  second  differ  only  in  degree,  or  density  of  deposit,  the  image 
being  a  positive — i.  e.,  having  its  lights  and  shadows  in  their  proper  posi- 
tions, when  seen  by  reflected  light;  and  a  negative,  or  with  its  Ii«ht8  and 
shadows  reversed,  when  examined  by  transmitted  light.  The  positive  is 
backed  with  black  varnish,  and  the  desired  pearly-white  deposit  produced 
by  development  with  the  protonitrate  and  sulphate  of  iron,  and  nitric  and 
acetic  acids.  The  negative  is  used  only  as  a  cliche  from  which  to  print 
positive  impressions  on  paper  or  other  suitable  material,  and  requires  a 
greater  degree  of  density,  its  high  lights  being  quite  opaque,  and  descending 
6j  delicate  gradations  to  its  deepest  shadows,  which  should  be  represented  by 


448      CTCLOP^DlA    OF    VSSPUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

clear  glass.  The  negative  requires  a  longer  exposure  in  the  camera  than 
the  positive,  and  is  generally  developed  with  protosulphate  of  iron  and 
acetic  acid,  and  intensified  with  pyrogallic  and  acetic  acids,  and  nitrate  of 
silver.  The  third  or  dry  process  is  distinguished  from  the  preceding  modi- 
fications of  the  wet  process  by  the  complete  removal  of  the  adherent  free 
litrate  of  silver,  the  application  of  a  preservative  agent,  and  the  necessity 

for  adding  nitrate  of  silver  to  the 
developer.  There  has  recently 
come  into  general  use  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  dry  process,  which 
is  likely  to  supersede  all  others. 
It  is  known  as  the  collodio- 
bromide  or  emulsion  process, 
and  was  introduced  by  Syce  and 
Bolton  of  Liverpool  in  1864,  but 
attracted  little  attention  till  1871. 
An  emulsion  is  formed  by  the 
addition  of  bromide  of  cadmium, 
and  nitrate  of  silver  to  collodion; 
this  is  poured  on  a  plate, 
washed,  and  immersed  in  any  of 
the  preservative  solutions,  and 
may  be  exposed  wet,  or  dried 
and  kept  indefinitely.  Plates  so 
prepared  are  very  sensitive,  and 
possess  the  great  advantage  of 
being  capable  of  development 
without  nitrate  of  silver;  pyro- 
gallic acid,  ammonia  and  brom- 
ide of  potass  bringing  them 
easily  up  to  printing  density. 

Paper.— T  his  well-known 
fabric  is  usually  composed  of 
vegetable  fibres  minutely  divid- 
ed and  recombined  in  thin 
sheets,  either  by  simple  drying 
in  contact,  or  with  the  addition 
of  size  or  some  other  adhesive 
material.  "Whatever  the  material 
employed,  the  process  is  the 
same.  The  rags,  bark  fibres,  or 
other  substance,  must  be  re- 
duced with  water  into  a  fine, 
smooth  pulp.  The  paper-mak- 
ing machine  has  almost  entirely 
superseded  the  old  hand  pro- 
cess. It  contains  a  pulp  vat^ 
with  a  hog  or  wheel  inside  to  agitate  the  pulp,  and  an  arrangement  for 
pouring  the  pulp  over  a  wire-gauze  mold,  which  is  an  endless  sheet  mov- 
iag  round  two  rollers,  which  keep  it  stretched  out  and  revolving  when  in 
operation.  Under  the  part  which  receives  the  pulp  there  is  a  series  of  email 
brass  rollers;  these,  being  nearly  close  together,  keep  it  perfectly  level, 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES.          249 

Which  is  a  most  necessary  condition;  besides  which,  there  is  a  shallow 
trough,  called  the  sace  all,  which  catches  and  retains  the  water,  which  al- 
ways escapes  with  some  pulp  in  suspension;  and  an  arrangement  of  suction 
boxes  and  tubes,  worked  by  air  pumps,  which  draw  much  ol  the  water  out 
as  the  pulp  passes  over  them.  The  pulp  is  kept  from  running  over  the 
sides  by  straps  called  the  deckles,  which  are  also  endless  bands,  usually  of 
vulcanized  India-rubber,  carried  round  moving  rollers,  so  that  they  travel 
with  the  wire-gauze,  and  therefore  offer  no  resistance  to  it.  In  addition  to 
all  this,  the  frame-work  on  which  the  surface  of  the  wire-gauze  rests  has  a 
shogging  motion,  or  side-shake,  which  has  an  important  effect  in  working 
the  fibres  together  before  the  pulp  finally  settles  down.  When  it  reaches 
the  couching-rolls,  which  press  out  most  of  the  remaining  moisture,  and 
carry  it  forward  to  the  first  and  second  series  of  press-rolls  by  means  of  an 
endless  web  of  felt  which  passes  round  them,  the  speed  of  these  rollers  and 
the  traveling  sheet  of  felt  is  nicely  calculated,  so  as  to  prevent  a  strain  upon 
the  still  very  tender  web  of  paper.  Sometimes  the  upper  rollers  of  these 
two  series  are  filled  with  steam,  in  order  to  commence  drying  the  web.  The 
paper  is  now  trusted  to  itself,  and  passes  on  from  the  second  press-rolls  to 
the  first  set  of  drying  cylinders,  where  it  again  meets  with  a  felt  sheet, 
which  keeps  it  in  close  contact  with  the  drying  cylinders,  which  are  of  large 
size,  and  filled  with  steam.  Around  these  it  passes,  drying  as  it  goes;  is 
then  received  between  the  two  smoottiing-rolls,  or  damp  calenders,  which 
press  both  surfaces,  and  remove  the  marks  of  the  wire  and  felt,  which  are 
until  then  visible  on  the  paper.  This  is  necessarily  done  before  the  drying 
is  quite  completed;  and  from  the  smoothing-rolls  it  passes  to  the  second 
series  of  drying  cylinders,  where  the  drying  is  finished,  and  thence  to  the 
calenders,  which  are  polished  rollers  of  hard  cast-iron,  so  adjusted  as  to 
give  a  considerable  pressure  to  the  paper,  and  at  the  same  time  a  glossiness 
of  surface.  For  writing-papers,  the  paper  passes  through  a  shallow  trough 
of  size  after  leaving  the  drying  cylinders,  and  then  passes  over  an- 
other series  of  skeleton  cylinders,  with  fans  moving  inside,  by  which 
it  is  again  dried  without  heat,  and  afterwards  passes  through  the  calenders. 
Printing  and  other  papers  are  usually  sized  by  mixing  the  size  in  the  pulp, 
in  which  stage  the  coloring  materials — such  as  ultramarine  for  the  blue  tint 
of  foolscap — are  also  introduced.  Still  following  the  paper  web,  it  is  seen  to 
pass  from  the  calenders  to  another  machine;  this  slits  the  web  into  widths, 
which  are  again  cross  cut  into  sheets,  the  size  of  which  is  regulated  at  will. 
The  water-mark  is  impressed  on  machine-made  paper  by  means  of  a  fine 
light  wire  cylinder  with  a  wire-woven  pattern;  this  is  placed  over  the  wire- 
gauze  sheet  upon  which  the  pulp  is  spread,  but  near  the  other  end  of  it,  so 
that  the  light  impression  of  the  marker  may  act  upon  the  paper  just  when  it 
ceases  to  be  pulp,  and  this  remains  all  through  its  course.  There  are  many 
other  interesting  points  about  the  paper-machine,  but  their  introduction 
here  would  rather  tend  to  confuse  the  reader.  Its  productive  power  is  very 
great;  it  moves  at  a  rate  of  from  thirty  to  seventy  feet  per  minute,  spreading 
pulp,  couching,  drying,  and  calendering  as  it  goes,  so  that  the  stream  of 
pulp  flowing  in  at  one  end  is  in  two  minutes  passing  out  finished  paper  at 
the  other.  It  has  been  computed  that  an  ordinary  machine,  making  webe  of 
paper  fifty-four  inches  wide,  will  turn  out  four  miles  a  day. 

Silk. — Silk  is  the  produce  of  a  little  caterpillar,  being  the  substance  of 
which  the  cocoon  is  formed,  in  which  it  reposes  during  its  chrysalis  state. 
All  the  insects  which  we  call  butterflies  or  moths,  of  which  the  silk  worm 


250       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

is  one,  pass  through  two  stages  of  existence  before  they  arrive  at  their  per- 
fect and  final  form;  first,  they  are  worms  or  caterpillars;  then  they  pass  into 
some  sort  of  chrysalis,  in  which  state  the  functions  of  lile  appear  suspended; 
some  of  them  bury  in  the  earth,  others  make  themselves  cases  of  various 
materials  in  which  to  sleep  till  the  time  for  their  change  comes;  the  silk- 
worm, at  this  time,  spins  itself  a  hollow  oval  ball  of  golden-colored  silk. 
This  period  of  sleep  being  past,  the  perfect  insect  emerges  a  beautiful  but- 
terfly, glittering  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  basking  in  the  sun- 
shine; or  a  soft  and  downy  moth  flitting  through  the  evening  shadows. 

The  moth  of  the  silk-worm  is  a  quiet  grayish  moth,  with  no  beauty  to 
recommend  it,  and  not  very  active  either,  its  sole  business  appearing  to  be  to 
lay  the  eggs  which  are  to  furnish  the  next  crop  of  useful  spinners;  these  eggs 
are  about  the  size  of  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  and  care  is  required  in  hot  cli- 
mates that  they  do  not  hatch  before  the  time  when  their  natural  food  ia 
ready  for  them.  In  cold  climates,"  there  is  no  care  of  this  kind  necessary,  as 
they  need  artificial  heat  to  hatch  them. 

The  silk-worm  in  a  wild  state  feeds  only  on  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry- 
tree,  and  though  it  will  eat  the  lettuce  and  some  other  things,  it  never 

thrives;  nor  is  it  singular 
in  this,  for  many  other 
kinds  of  caterpillars  are 
found  only  or  chiefly  on 
one  tree  or  plant,  which  is 
their  favorite  food. 

The  eggs  are  hatched 
by  artificial  heat.  The 
old  plan  for  accomplishing 
this  was  for  some  person 
to  wear  them  next  their 
bosom  for  three  or  four 
days;  but  the  present  plan 
is  to  place  them  in  a  room 
the  temperature  of  which 
is  gradually  raised,  until 
the  tenth  day  it  reaches 
eighty-two  degrees; 
when  the  eggs  turn  whitish  it  is  a  sign  they  are  nearly  ready  to  be  hatched; 
sheets  of  perforated  paper  or  pieces  of  clear  muslin  are  placed  over  the 
eggs,  and  the  tiny  worms  as  they  come  out  of  their  shells  climb  through  to 
the  upper  surface  of  the  paper  or  muslin.  Small  twigs  of  mulberry  are 
placed  on  the  paper,  and  as  the  little  nurslings  climb  on  to  these  they  are 
carried  away  to  the  rearing-house  and  other  twigs  are  laid  on.  Great  care 
is  taken  that  the  room  in  which  the  worms  are  kept  should  be  well  venti- 
lated, and  they  are  fed  with  young  leaves  chopped  small.  The  silk-worms 
grow  very  rapidly;  at  first  they  are  little  black  threads,  small  enough  to  be 
coiled  in  a  shell  not  bigger  than  a  mustard-seed.  After  one  has  grown  for 
about  eight  days  it  refuses  food,  appears  sickly,  and  pines,  and  in  three 
days  completely  changes  its  skin,  throwing  off  the  old  one  which  had  con- 
fined it;  it  then  grows  rapidly  again  until  the  time  of  its  second  moulting, 
when  it  again  refuses  food,  again  casts  off  its  skin,  and  increases  very  rapidly 
in  bulk.  This  operation  is  repeated  once  more,  and  after  the  final  moulting 
the  worm  is  sometimes  almost  three  inches  long,  and  six  will  weigh  an  ounce; 
whereas  when  they  were  first  hatched  fifty  thousand  weighed  no  more. 


THE  SILK-WOBM. 


V8EFVL    ARTS    AND    MANVFACTVRJSS.        251 

Little  artificial  hedges  of  twigs  are  formed  upon  the  shelves  on  which  the 
woi-ms  have  been  fed,  and  when  they  are  quite  ready,  and  have  no  longer 
any  inclination  to  eat,  they  climb  among  the  twigs  and  seek  a  convenient 
place  for  forming  their  cocoons.  They  first  spin  thin,  loose  threads,  and  in- 
side these  they  form  a  hollow  ball,  firm  and  elastic,  and  capable  of  being 
unraveled  into  one  continuous  thread,  varying  in  length  from  three  hun- 
dred to  six  hundred  yards.  The  length  of  a  cocoon  is  generally  about  one 
inch,  and  its  width  about  two-thirds  of  an  inch;  this  is  measured  without  the 
external  loose  floss  silk,  which,  with  some  part  of  the  cocoon,  can  never  be 
reeled  off,  but  has  to  be  spun  in  the  same  manner  as  cotton.  The  cocoone 
are  either' white  or  yellow,  those  which  are  the  latter  hue  contain  the  most 
of  a  peculiar  gum  which  stiffens  the  silk,  and  with  which  the  worm  smears 
the  interior  of  its  cell  when  finished,  to  render  it  both  air  and  water  tight. 
The  emission  of  all  this  silk,  which  has  been  secreted  in  two  spiral  vessels 
contained  in  the  stomach  of  the  worm,  greatly  reduces  its  size,  and  when, 
at  the  end  of  three  or  four  days,  the  cocoon  is  completed,  it  rests  awhile; 
and  then  changes  its  last  caterpillar  skin  for  the  chrysalidan  form,  and 
would,  if  undisturbed,  emerge  in  about  fifteen  or  twenty  days  a  moth. 

Usually  the  silk  is  taken  in  about  seven  or  eight  days  froai  the  time  wheii 
the  cocoons  were  finished.  Great  care  must  be  taken  to  handle  them  gently, 
and  to  sort  them  very  carefully,  selecting  some  of  the  best  to  be  preserved 
for  the  eggs.  The  perfect  cocoons  are  put  by  themselves,  and  those  which 
are  soiled,  double,  or  by  any  means  imperfect,  are  sorted  also.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  kill  the  chrysalides  in  all  those  which  are  intended  to  be  reeled, 
by  exposure  to  great  heat,  and  after  this  has  been  done  the  balls  are  stowed 
away  on  shelves  in  rooms  intended  for  the  purpose. 

In  the  average  not  more  than  one  pound  of  reeled  silk  can  be  obtained 
from  twelve  pounds  of  cocoons;  some  of  the  difference  being  occasioned  by 
the  weight  of  the  chrysalis,  and  the  remainder  by  the  floss  or  refuse  silk. 

To  reel  the  silk  a  little  machine  turned  by  hand  is  employed,  which  con- 
tains a  large  reel  to  form  the  skein  of  silk;  this  is  usually  about  one  yard  in 
circumference,  with  a  wheel  which  guides  the  thread  to  and  fro  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  sewing-cotton  is  wound  on  reels.  Attached  to  this  is  a 
small  boiler,  about  eighteen  inches  long  and  six  inches  deep,  under  which  a 
small  charcoal  fire  is  made;  into  this  boiler  the  cocoons  are  thrown  when 
the  water  is  nearly  boiling,  and  after  a  few  minutes  their  gum  is  sufficiently 
softened  for  the  loose  filaments  to  float  off.  The  reeler  takes  four  or  more 
of  these  in  her  hand,  and  twisting  them  together  they  adhere  by  means  of 
the  softened  gum,  and  when  attached  to  the  reel,  are  wound  off  as  one 
thread;  by  this  means  their  strength  is  greatly  increased.  When  the  thread 
from  one  cocoon  breaks  it  is  not  needful  to  tie  a  knot,  the  gumminess  of  the 
silk  being  sufficient  to  unite  the  ends;  and  great  care  must  be  taken  by  regu- 
ulating  the  number  of  threads  wound  at  once,  that  the  thread  produced  be 
of  uniform  size  throughout.  » 

After  reeling,  the  silk  is  sent  to  a  mill  where  it  is  worked  from  raw  silk 
into  singles,  tram,  or  organzine;  singles  is  merely  made  by  twisting  the 
raw  silk;  for  the  formation  of  tram  two  or  more  threads  are  twisted  together 
(this  kind  is  used  for  shoot  or  weft);  while  organzine  is  a  real,  though  fine, 
cable  made  of  silk,  it  being  composed  of  separate  cords,  each  of  which  has 
previously  been  twisted;  organzine  is  principally  used  for  warp. 

The  silk  thus  thrown  is  called  hard  silk,  and  must  be  boiled  with  soap 
in  order  to  discharge  the  gum;  for  unless  this  were  done  the  silk  would  be 
harsh  to  the  touch,  and  unfitted  to  receive  the  beautiful  dyes  which  are 


252      CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


always  given  to  silk  before  it  is  woven.    The  boiling,  which  lasts  four  or  five 

hours,  lessens 
the  weight,  but 
increases  the 
bulk  of  the  bilk, 
and  renders  it 
soft  and  glossy. 

Calico 
Printing 

The  first  opera- 
tic n  connected 
with  the  printing 
of  cloth  is  tho 
removal  of  the 
surface  hairs  or 
minute  threads 
which  communi- 
cate a  fibrous 
down  or  nap  to 
the  surface  of 
the  cloth,  and  if 
allowed  to  re- 
main, would  in- 
terfere with  the 
uniform  applica- 
tion of  the  col- 
ors. The  surface 
down  is  got  rid 
of  by  the  pro- 
cess of  singeing, 
during  which 
the  cloth  is 
drawn  over  a 
red-hot  iron  or 
copper  bar  or 
plate,  or  through 
a  series  of  gas 
jets.  When  well 
singed  the  cloth 
undergoes  the 
process  of 
bleaching,  and 
is  thereafter  cal- 
endered. There 
are  several 
modes  of  apply- 
ing the  colors  to 
cloth,  but  one  of 
which,  termed 
the  madder  style, 
we  nave  8paco 

to  describe.    The  madder  style  is  that  in  which  a  certain  fixing  agent  or  mor- 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES.          253 

dant  is  printed  on  the  cloth,  which  is  then  introduced  into  the  coloring  mat- 
ter in  a  dye-vat,  when  the  mordant,  having  an  attraction  alike  for  the  fibre 
of  the  cloth  and  for  the  coloring  matter,  acts  the  part  of  glue  or  paste,  and 
cements  the  color  to  the  cloth.  Originally,  madder  was  the  only  coloring 
substance  employed  in  this  style;  but  now-a-days,  by  far  the  greater  num- 
ber of  dye-stuffs,  vegetable  and  animal,  including  cochineal,  logwood,  etc., 
are  attached  to  cloth  in  this  manner.  The  fixing  agents  or  mordants  gen- 
erally employed  are  different  strengths  of  red  liquor  (acetate  of  alumina), 
iron  liquor  (acetate  of  iron),  and  mixtures  of  these.  These  are  thickened 
with  wheat-starch,  potato-flour,  roasted  starch  or  dextrine,  and  gum-arabic, 
so  that  the  mordant  may  not  run  when  it  is  placed  on  the  cloth  by  the  pat- 
tern-block or  by  the  printing  machine.  After  the  mordant  has  been  im- 
printed on  the  cloth,  the  latter  is  hung  in  a  warm,  airy  room,  where  it  can 
easily  dry,  but  where  it  is  at  the  same  time  surrounded  by  a  moist  atmos- 
phere. The  result  is,  that  the  mordant  is  decomposed,  the  acetic  acid  is 
evolved,  and  the  alumina  or  iron  is  left  attached  to  the  fibre  of  the  cloth  in 
the  state  of  an  insoluble  sub-salt,  which  cannot  be  dissolved  by  water.  As 
some  of  the  mordant  is  still  left  in  its  original  soluble  condition,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  wash  the  cloth  free  from  this,  else,  during  the  dyeing  operation,  the 
soluble  part  of  the  mordant  would  run  on  to  those  parts  of  the  cloth  not  in- 
tended to  be  colored,  and  thus  produce  a  blotted  appearance.  To  obviate 
this,  the  cloth,  having  undergone  the  process  of  drying  and  ageing,  is  then 
introduced  into  a  vat  containing  water,  through  which  is  diffused  some  cow- 
dung,  dung  substitute — a  preparation  of  bone-ash,  sulphuric  acid,  carbonate 
of  soda,  and  glue — or  bran.  The  result  of  this  process  of  dunging  is  the  re- 
moval of  the  soluble  part  of  the  mordant,  as  also  the  starch  or  thickening 
agent,  leaving  the  decomposed  or  insoluble  mordant  adhering  to  the  fibre. 
The  terms  dung-fining,  subslitute-fiiiing,  and  bran-fixing,  have  reference  to 
the  employment  of  one  or  other  of  these  agents  at  this  stage  of  the  operation. 
When  the  cloth  has  been  well  washed  from  the  dunging,  it  is  introduced  into 
the  vat  or  dye-beck  containing  the  coloring  matter.  The  whole  is  heated  by 
steam-pipes,  and  the  cloth  being  placed  on  a  sparred  reel  kept  in  motion, 
is  repeatedly  wound  out  of  the  vat,  and  returned  thereto.  The  result  is, 
that  wherever  the  mordant  adhered  to  the  cloth,  the  coloring  matter  is  at- 
tached thereto,  and  little  or  no  trace  of  color  adheres  to  the  tmmordanted 
parts.  The  last  operation  'is  the  clearing  or  brightening,  during  which  the 
colored  cloth  is  introduced  into  warm  baths  of  water  containing  soda,  soap, 
or,  for  the  more  delicate  tints,  bran,  and  is  thereafter  acted  on  by  weak  acid 
solutions.  The  object  is  to  clear  the  colors,  and  at  the  same  time  to  confer 
upon  them  the  property  of  resisting  the  fading  action  of  the  air  and  sun  for 
a  much  longer  time.  The  different  shades  of  color  which  can  be  obtained 
from  the  same  madder  beck  or  vat,  with  different  mordants,  are  very  nu- 
merous, and  include  reds,  lilacs,  purples,  chocolates,  and  blacks.  Thus, 
when  a  weak  solution  of  red  liquor  (acetate  of  alumina)  is  employed  as  the 
mordant,  a  light-red  tint  is  procured;  with  a  stronger  aluminous  mordant, 
a  deep  red  is  formed  on  the  cloth;  with  a  more  or  less  dilute  solution  of 
iron  liquor  (acetate  of  iron),  the  cloth  is  colored  lilao,  violet,  or  purple;  with 
a  strong  solution  of  iron  liquor,  black  is  obtained.  Indeed,  the  same  piece 
of  cloth  stamped  in  different  places  with  the  various  strengths  of  aluminous 
and  iron  mordants,  and  mixtures  of  these,  and  immersed  in  the  madder- 
bath,  will  be  obtained  dyed  with  all  the  shades  mentioned;  and  in  this  man- 
ner, many  of  the  beautiful  variegated  colored  dresses  and  handkerchiefs  are 
prepared  for  market. 


254       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Iron. — Iron  is  a  metal,  and  is  a  natural  substance,  but  is  not  found  in 
the  state  in  which  it  is  used.  Metals  are  seldom  met  with  pure,  but  are 
found  combined  with  earthy  matter  in  the  form  of  rock,  with  sulphur,  car- 
bon, etc.,  and  in  this  state  are  called  ores.  Metals  are  mineral  substances, 
which  are  opaque,  and  possess  a  peculiar  lustre;  they  are  fusible  by  heat, 
and  do  not  become  transparent  during  fusion;  most  of  them  are  malleable 
—capable  of  being  hammered  out  into  sheets;  ductile — capable  of  being 
drawn  into  wire;  and  tenacious,  or  not  easily  divided. 

Cast  iron  is  the  term  applied  to  iron  which  has  been  melted  and  poured 
into  molds;  it  is  the  simplest  form  in  which  this  metal  is  used.  To  obtain 


PUDDLING  IKON. 

it  the  rough  ore  is  first  piled  up  with  fuel  and  roasted  in  a  kiln,  which  frees 
it  from  water,  sulphur,  arsenic,  and  other  impurities  which  are  capable  of 
being  sultlimed — which  means  being  driven  off  in  fumes.  The  roasted  ore 
is  then  smelted  in  a  blast  furnace,  which  is  charged  from  the  top  with  certain 
proportions  of  iron  ore,  coke  and  limestone;  the  last  to  act  as  a  flux.  Cast 
iron  articles  are  made  by  using  a  quantity  of  this  pig-iron  melted  in  a 
furnace,  and  then  the  liquid  iron,  Avhich  looks  like  liquid  fire,  is  poured  out 
into  molds  and  allowed  to  cool  very  gradually.  These  molds  are  usually 
made  in  a  bed  of  fine  wet  sand;  j  curious  instance  of  the  employment  of  an 
apparently  weak  and  fragile  substance  to  mold  or  curb  a  strong  one. 


USEFUL    A  JITS    AND    MANUFACTURES. 


255 


"Wrought,  otherwise  called  bar  or  malleable,  iron  ia  made  from  tha 
rough  pig-iron  in  this  manner:  It  is  first  refined,  which  is  chiefly  done  in  the 
"  puddling  furnace,"  the  iron  being  exposed  to  very  great  heat,  and  stirred 
about  while  a  strong  current  of  air  plays  over  its  surface;  tho  intense  heat 
consumes  the  carbonaceous  matter  remaining  in  tho  iron,  and  all  the  earthy 
impurities  rise  to  tho  surface  in  tho  form  of  slag,  and  aro  allowed  to  run  offT 
Gradually,  as  tho  iron  becomes  purer,  its  fusibility  generally  lessens,  and 
it  becomes  tough  like  dough,  even  though  the  heat  of  tho  furnace  be 
undiminished;  it  is  then  withdrawn,  and  while  still  red-hot  is  beaten  with 
tho  forge  hammer  or  subjected  to  rolling,  by  which  moans  it  becomes  much 
more  tenacious,  from  its  particles  being  more  closely  compacted.  This 


MELTING  STEEL. 

process  converts  hard,  brittle,  fusible  pig  metal  into  a  tough  elastic  bar; 
Tery  malleable,  but  hardly  fusible  at  all. 

Steel. — To  make  steel  from  iron,  bars  of  wrought  iron  are  imbedded  in 
pounded  charcoal,  and  exposed  to  a  furnace  heat  in  close  vessels;  when 
•withdrawn  from  the  furnace  the  steel  is  found  to  have  absorbed  some  of  tho 
charcoal,  to  be  harder  and  more  fusible,  and  its  surface  covered  with  small 
bubbles,  hence  it  is  called  blistered  steel.  When  several  rods  of  this  kind 
are  heated  in  a  l>ox  -with  a  flux,  and  afterward  hammered  into  one  piece,  it 
js  called  shear  ntf<>t,  V>o<*<uif»e  it  is  the  jnost  suitable  for  making  shears, 


56        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

scissors,  etc.    When  this  kind  of  Bteel  is  melted  and  run  into  ingots,  it  ia 
termed  cast  steel,  which  ia  the  moat  perfect  form  of  the  metal. 

Steel  is  tempered  by  being  plunged  when  red-hot  into  cold  water  or  oil, 
by  which  means  it  becomes  very  hard,  and  can  be  made  brittle  and  highly 
elastic;  some  things,  such  as  a  lancet,  require  the  steel  to  be  hard  as  ad- 
amant, but  do  not  need  strength,  and  break  immediately;  while  for  others, 
such  as  a  trowel,  the  hardness  must  be  associated  with  a  toughness,  which 
shall  suffice  to  prevent  it  from  breaking  even  with  the  roughest  work;  these 
extremes,  and  all  intermediate  stages,  can  be  attained  by  regulating  the 
processes  of  hardening  and  tempering. 

Glass. — Glass  is  a  transparent,  hard,  brittle  substance,  formed  by  the 
fusion  of  flint  or  sand  and  an  alkali;  generally  soda,  though  for  the  finer 
sorts  of  glass  potash  is  used.  It  is  remarkable  that  though  so  perfectly 
transparent  itself,  none  of  the  ingredients  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
glass  possess  that  quality;  and  also,  that  an  article  which  is  brittle  to  a 
proverb,  should,  when  heated,  become  so  exceedingly  ductile  as  to  be  capa- 
ble of  being  molded  into  any  and  every  form  that  may  be  desired,  and 
drawn  out  into  the  finest  thread. 

Five  kinds  of  glass  are  made:  Flint  glass,  or  crystal;  crown  glass,  broad 
sheet  glass,  bottle,  or  green  glass,  and  plate  glass.  Each  of  these  kinds  is 
made  with  silex  and  alkali;  their  different  qualities  being  dependent  on  the 
proportion  and  degree  of  purity  of  these  ingredients,  and  on  various  acces- 
sory materials;  such  as  nitre,  oxide  of  lead,  of  manganese,  or  of  arsenic, 
borax  or  chalk.  Formerly  silex  was  sometimes  used  in  the  form  of  ground 
flint;  now  this  is  discontinued,  and  seasand  is  almost  always  employed. 

For  all  kinds  of  glass,  except  flint,  the  materials,  after  being  purified,  are 
put  into  a  furnace  called  a  "  calcar,"  where  they  are  "  calcined,"  this  process 
is  called  fritting;  the  substance  comes  out  soft  and  pasty,  and  is  cut  into 
squares  which  harden  and  are  piled  away  for  future  use.  In  the  final  melt- 
ing, the/rtf  is  put  in  to  glass  pots,  or  crucibles,  about  twelve  of  which  stand 
in  each  furnace;  these  crucibles  sometimes  hold  as  much  as  a  ton  of  glass 
each,  and  are  reached  by  openings  in  the  wall  of  the  furnace. 

Glass  does  not  become  transparent  as  soon  as  it  is  melted;  a  white 
opaque  porous  scum,  known  by  the  name  of  sandiver  or  glass  gall,  rises  to 
the  surface,  and  till  this  is  all  cleared  off  the  glass  is  not  transparent,  this 
scum,  which  appears  to  consist  of  salts  and  refuse  alkali,  is  purchased  by 
refiners  of  metals,  who  use  it  as  a  flux. 

The  molten  glass  is  fashioned  into  the  different  articles  in  the  following 
manner:  It  is  cooled  till  it  becomes  a  consistent  tenacious  mass,  soft  enough 
to  yield  to  the  slightest  pressure,  able  to  be  bent  and  pulled  into  any  shape 
without  cracking.  All  kinds  of  small  articles  are  made  of  flint  glass;  and  to 
form  these  the  workman  then  takes  hia  blowpipe,  collects  a  quantity  of 
melted  glass  upon  the  end  of  it,  and  having  rolled  it  upon  a  polished  iron 
slab,  called  a  marver,  blows  through  the  pipe,  thus  distending  the  glass 
into  a  hollow  globe;  this  is  repeated,  the  glass  being  frequently  heated  at 
the  opening  in  the  furnace,  till  it  assumes  the  desired  size;  it  is  then  trans- 
ferred from  the  blowpipe  to  another  rod,  and  the  workman,  with  an  instru- 
ment like  a  pair  of  sugar-tongs,  bends,  contracts  or  enlarges  the  vessel;  any 
excess  of  material  ia  cut  away  with  shears  as  readily  as  a  bit  of  soft  leather. 
One  other  tool  completes  the  number  used  in  all  the  ordinary  proceaaeB; 
this  is  a  small  flat  iron  plate  with  a  handle,  and  is  called  a  battledore;  it  ie 
used  to  flatten  the  bottoms  of  tumblers,  jugs,  etc. 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES. 


257 


When  completely  formed  the  vessels  are  at  once  carried  to  the  annealing 
oven  called  a  lenr,  where  they  are  heated  and  allowed  to  cool  very  gradually, 
without  which  precaution  they  would  be  liable  to  break  with  the  slightest 
touch  or  change  of  temperature.  The  reason  for  this  is,  that  crystalline 
substances  expand  with  heat  and  contract  in  cooling,  and  as  the  degree  of 
expansion  exactly  agrees  with  the  degree  of  heat,  anything  like  a  tube  or 
hollow  vessel,  which  cools  more  slowly  inside  than  outside,  is  very  liable  to 
be  broken  by  the  consequent  derangement  of  the  atoms — some  being 
crushed  by  the  unequal  tension.  The  cure  lies  in  placing  the  articles  in 
aueh  external  heat  as  shall  allow  both  surfaces  to  cool  at  the  same  rate- 


GLASS  MANCFACTUBE. — ANNEALING   FUKNACE. 

The  larger  and  heavier  the  glass  is  the  more  difficult  will  it  be  to  cool  it 
safely.  The  annealing  oven,  or  lear,  is  an  arch  with  a  furnace  at  one  end, 
which  is  heated  by  coke,  and  which  had  a  door  at  each  end;  this  oven  is  very 
long,  often  sixty  feet,  but  narrow;  the  floor  is  fitted  with  pans  for  receiving 
the  glasses,  which  travel  slowly  on  a  miniature  railroad  from  the  hottest  to 
the  coolest  end;  the  time  employed  for  annealing  varies,  according  to  the 
size  and  weight  of  the  articles,  from  six  to  sixty  hours. 

Sheets  of  crown  glass,  like  those  used  for  cutting  into  window-panes, 
are  made  as  follows:  The  melted  glass  is  collected  on  the  blowpipe,  as  in 
the  case  of  flint  glass,  and  the  workman  gradually  blows  a  globe;  he  then 
fosteng  oil  an  iron  rod  to  the  side  opposite  that  where  the  blowpipe  is  in- 


368       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

sorted,  and  takes  the  latter  away,  which  leaves  a  hole;  he  heats  the  glass 
again,  and  begins  twirling  the  rod;  the  glass  yields  to  the  impulse,  its 
diameter  increases,  and  it  finally  flies  out  into  a  flat  disk  fifty  to  sixty  inches 
across,  and  having  the  rod  attached  in  the  center  by  a  lump  of  glass  com- 
monly known  as  a  bull's  eye. 

In  making  plate  glass,  great  care  is  taken  in  the  selection  of  such  ma- 
terials as  will  insure  the  greatest  clearness  and  most  ready  flowing  of  the 
glass;  these  are  fused  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  afterward  removed  from 
the  large  glass  pots  to  smaller  ones,  also  kept  iu  the  furnace,  and  from  these 
the  fluid  glass  is  poured  out  on  large  flat  iron  tables  constructed  for  the 
purpose;  the  tables  are  heated  before  being  used;  and  a  large  copper  roller 
is  passed  over  the  sheet  of  glass;  as  soon  as  it  is  set  it  is  carefully  removed 
into  the  annealing  oven,  where  it  remains  about  fifteen  days.  They  are  then 
what  is  termed  rough  plate,  which  is  frequently  used  where  great  strength 
is  more  needed  than  transparency,  but  to  finish  the  plate  glass  it  must  be 
squared,  ground  and  polished;  the  grinding  is  performed  by  making  a  plate 
steady  in  a  frame,  and  then  causing  another  to  rub  steadily  backward  and 
forward  upon  it,  with  some  grinding  substance  introduced  between  them; 
this  is  at  first  ground  flint,  and  afterward  as  the  roughness  is  lessened, 
emery  powder  is  used;  when  perfectly  smooth  they  are  polished  with 
leather  cushions  dressed  with  a  red  oxide  of  iron  called  colcothar. 

In  converting  the  plates  of  glass  into  mirrors  or  looking  glasses,  a  flat 
smooth  slab  of  wood  or  stone,  enclosed  in  a  wooden  frame  and  fixed  on  a 
pivot,  is  adjusted  horizontally;  a  sheet  of  gray  paper  is  then  stretched  over 
it,  and  above  this  another  of  very  thin  tinfoil,  and  as  much  mercury  is 
poured  on  as  will  rest  on  its  flat  surface;  the  plate  of  glass  is  then  very 
carefully  slid  into  the  frame  and  deposited  on  the  foil,  and  considerable 
weights  are  applied  to  its  surface,  which  squeeze  out  the  superfluoxis  mer- 
cury; at  the  end  of  a  day  the  under  side  of  the  glass  is  found  to  be  covered 
with  a  thin  soft  amalgam  of  mercury  and  tin,  which  hardens  by  exposure, 
and  causes  the  glass  accurately  to  reflect. 

China  and  Porcelain. — All  kinds  of  pottery,  from  the  finest  to  the 
coarsest,  are  composed  of  two  ingredients,  clay  and  flint  baked  together; 
but  iu  porcelain  these  are  of  such  kinds  and  in  such  proportions  that  the 
product  is  a  semivitrified  compound,  in  which  one  portion  remains  unaltered 
by  the  intensest  heat,  while  the  other  vitrifies  or  becomes  glass,  and,  en- 
veloping the  particles  of  the  infusible  ingredient,  produces  the  smooth, 
compact,  shining,  semi-transparent  substance  we  call  porcelain. 

In  preparing  the  materials,  the  first  part  is  the  preparation  of  the 
clay.  That  from  which  English  porcelain  is  composed  is  mostly  found 
in  Cornwall,  Devonshire  and  Dorsetshire.  The  clay  from  the  first  named 
place,  which  is  considered  the  finest,  consists  of  decomposed  felspar  of 
granite,  which  is  the  rock  most  abounding  in  that  county.  The  clay 
merchants  prepare  it  by  the  following  method,  and  send  it  to  the  potters 
under  the  name  of  china  clay:  The  stone  is  broken  up,  and  laid  in  run- 
ning water,  the  clayey,  or,  as  they  are  called,  argillaceous  parts,  being 
the  lightest,  are  carried  off  in  suspension,  while  the  quartz  and  mica,  which 
were  united  with  them  in  the  granite,  fall  soon  to  the  bottom.  At  some  dis- 
tance these  rivulets  end  in  catch-pools  where  the  water  is  arrested,  and 
after  time  has  been  allowed  for  the  pure  clay  with  which  it  was  charged 
to  settle  and  form  a  deposit,  it  is  drawn  off,  and  the  clay  dug  out  in 
square  blocks,  which  are  placed  on  shelves  to  dry  in  the  air.  It  is  now 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES.  259 

a  hard,  white  »as8,  which  can  by  crushing  he  reduced  to  an  impalpable 
powder. 

The  lumps  of  clay  are  first  pounded  and  mixed  with  water  to  the  con- 
sistence of  cream,  by  means  of  various  beating  and  cutting  implements;  the 
pulp  is  then  strained  through  several  sieves,  each  one  finer  than  the  last. 
The  next  process  is  preparing  the  flints,  which  are  first  burnt  in  a  kiln  and 
thrown,  red-hot,  into  cold  water,  and  afterward  ground  in  water  to  an  im- 
palpable powder;  the  two  dilutions  of  clay  and  flint  are  then  brought  to- 
gether, stirred  very  thoroughly,  and  again  strained,  and  so  great  is  the 
affinity  between  them  that,  even  when  wet,  they  unite  and  form  a  mortar 
which  no  action  of  the  atmosphere  can  decompose.  This  fluid  mixture  is 
called  "  slip,"  and  is  gradually  evaporated  in  what  are  called  "  slip-kilns  " 
to  a  consistence  like  dough.  It  is  not  yet  in  a  state  fit  for  molding  into  dif- 
ferent articles,  for  it  leaves  the  slip-kiln  full  of  air-bubbles,  which  must  be 
worked  out  by  elaborate  treading  and  kneading,  generally  with  the  naked 
feet,  and  after  this  is  done,  it  should  be  left  a  long  while  before  it  is  used, 
that  the  two  elements  may  the  more  intimately  unite.  If  placed  hi  a  damp 
cellar,  the  blocks  of  slip  undergo  a  kind  of  fermentation,  by  which  all  traces 
of  animal  or  vegetable  matter  which  they  may  have  contained  are  decom- 
posed and  got  rid  of;  and  this  greatly  improves  its  quality.  So  sensible  are 
the  Chinese  of  this  that  they  extend  the  interval  over  fifteen  or  twenty  years, 
and  a  parent  will  often  provide  a  sufficient  stock  for  his  son's  life. 

There  are  three  modes  in  use  in  shaping  the  vessels — throwing,  pressing 
and  casting;  throwing  is  performed  on  a  kind  of  lathe,  which  consists  in  a 
contrivance  by  which  a  small  circular  board  revolves  very  rapidly,  and  on 
this  the  clay  is  measured,  and  its  intended  shape  given  to  it,  by  the  press- 
ure of  the  fingers  and  palms  of  the  potter's  hande.  The  clay  vessel  thus 
molded  ia  then  partially  dried  before  transferring  it  to  the  turning-lathe, 
where  it  is  reduced  by  sharp  tools  to  the  required  thickness,  and  its  form 
carefully  finished  off;  it  next  passes  to  a  man  who  applies  handles,  spouts, 
and  all  other  small  appendages;  these  are  fastened  on  with  slip;  all  these 
small,  irregular-shaped  pieces  are  made  by  pressing  in  molds  formed  ol 
plaster  of  Paris;  and  plates,  saucers,  and  other  shallow  vessels,  are  formed 
in  a  mold,  which  is  made  to  revolve  on  the  block  of  the  lathe,  and  into 
which  the  workman  presses  the  clay  with  his  hand. 

The  vessels  are  put  into  a  furnace  enclosed  hi  deep  clay  boxes  called  seg- 
gars,  capable  of  sustaining  the  most  intense  heat;  these  protect  the  ware 
from  the  flame  and  smoke;  the  process  of  baking  lasts  from  forty-eight  to  fifty 
hours,  the  heat  gradually  increasing;  trial  pieces  are  placed  where  they  can 
easily  be  abstracted  to  see  how  the  process  goes  on,  and  when  it  is  finished, 
the  fires  are  put  out,  and  all  is  left  undisturbed  twenty  or  thirty  hours  to 
cool.  Bisque  or  biscuit  is  the  name  given  to  the  ware  after  its  first  baking. 
It  is  so  called  from  its  resemblance  to  ship-bread.  Many  small  vases,  figures, 
and  other  articles  of  ornament  are  sold  in  this  stage.  The  ware  is  atterward 
glazed  by  being  dipped  in  a  compound  of  litharge  of  lead  and  ground  flints, 
glass,  or  some  similar  ingredients,  mixed  with  water  to  the  consistency  of 
thin  cream.  The  workman  employed  stands  by  a  large  tub  or  other  reser- 
voir, and,  taking  up  the  pieces  of  ware  so  that  the  smallest  possible  portion 
shall  be  covered  by  the  fingers,  he  dexterously  plunges  it  in,  taking  care 
that  the  glaze  is  equally  distributed  all  over  the  article;  it  then  passes  to  a 
woman,  who  scrapes  off  any  superfluous  glaze  adhering  to  it.  A  skillful 
workman  will  dip  about  seven  hundred  dozen  plates  in  a  day.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  the  glaze,  when  applied,  is  perfectly  opaque,  BO  that  any 


fl60      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

painting  or  printing  with  which  the  article  may  have  been  ornamented  IB 
not  visible  until  it  has  been  fired.  This  second  baking  is  done  in  a  gloss 
oven;  the  heat  converts  the  flint,  etc.,  into  a  thin  coating  of  glass. 

The  next  operation  is  painting,  which  requires  to  be  done  with  peculiar 
metallic  colors,  united  to  a  flux;  these  colors  are  moistened  with  gum-water 
or  a  peculiar  oil,  which  causes  them  to  adhere  to  the  surface  of  the  china 
until  it  is  subjected  to  a  slight  firing,  sufficient  to  fuse  the  glass  or  flint  with 
which  the  colors  are  united;  the  paintings  are  thus  burnt  in,  and  acquire  a 
gloss  equal  to  the  rest  of  the  surface.  Professed  artists  are  employed  for 
ornamenting  china  in  this  manner,  and  the  most  exquisite  designs  are  fre- 
quently produced.  For  the  common  ware  a  much  simpler  process  suffices, 
and  this  is  done  before  the  glazing  instead  of  after  it,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
painting.  The  pattern  is  printed  from  a  copper-plate,  on  a  thin  paper>  and 
this  is  transferred  to  the  ware  in*  the  state  of  biscuit,  when  the  color  remains 
and  the  paper  is  removed;  the  glazing  then  proceeds  as  before  noted.  Gold 

is  applied  to  the  finer 
wares  in  a  metallic 
state,  and,  after  burning 
on,  requires  burnishing 
with  agate  or  blood- 
stone. 

Watch-Making.— 
There  is  no  more  won- 
derful or  curious  piece 
of  mechanism  than  a 
watch.  As  it  is  the  most 
interesting  of  all  ma- 
chines, so  the  process  by 
which  it  is  produced 
from  simple  wires  of 
steel,  plates  of  brass  and 
ingots  of  gold  or  silver, 
is  very  curious.  A 1 1 

the   minute   parts  of  a 

WATCH-MAKING. — THE  woBK  BOOM.  watch  are  made  by  ma- 

chinery in  this  country. 

Equally  curious  with  the  making  of  the  minute  screws  is  the  fashioning  of 
the  other  tiny  parts.  One  machine  punches  a  plain  round  piece  of  brass; 
another  makes  it  a  skeleton  wheel;  a  third  cuts  the  teeth  on  a  score  of 
wheels;  yet  another  polishes  it;  then  it  goes  into  a  room  where  it  is  im- 
mersed in  a  solution  of  gold,  thus,  gilding  it;  and  it  comes  out  one  of  those 
beauti  ful  little  wheels  ivhich  you  see  moving  so  exactly  on  its  pivot  in  the 
completed  watch.  Another  apparatus  is  used  to  fashion  the  escapement 
wheels,  with  their  oddly-turned  teeth,  and  the  compensation  balance, 
the  most  conspicuous  of  all  the  wheels  of  a  watch,  with  its  two  sec- 
tions, held  together  by  a  thin,  diametrical  bar  of  steel,  and  its  outer 
and  inner  rims  of  brass  and  steel.  This  compensation  balance  is  one 
of  the  most  important  inventions  in  the  modern  watch,  as  the  different 
degrees  of  the  contraction  or  expansion,  by  cold  or  heat,  of  the  cop- 
per and  steel  rims,  keep  the  balance  constant  in  all  temperatures.  No  piece, 
however  small,  is  put  into  a  watch  until  it  has  been  measured  and  weighed. 
There  is  also  a  gauging  machine  for  measuring  thickness,  and  etill  another 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES. 


261 


machine  measures  the  hair  springs.  One  of  the  most  interesting  rooms  is 
that  in  which  the  dials,  or  white  faces  oi'  the  watches,  are  made.  These  are 
at  first  plain,  round  copper  pieces,  cut  out  of  the  sheets  by  machinery.  A 
preparation  of  white  enamel  is  spread  over  this  copper  piece;  and  when  it  is 
dry  it  is  inserted  into  a  red-hot  hole,  where  the  enamel  is  fused  hard  on  the 
copper.  It  is  then  ground  with  fine  sand  and  again  subjected  to  fire  to 
give  it  the  glossy  appearance  which  we  see  on  the  watch's  face.  Another 
curious  room  is  that  where  the  different  brass  pieces  are  gilded  by  means  of 
batteries  and  gold  solutions.  The  watches  are  tested,  as  to  bearing  differ- 
ent temperatures,  by  first  being  placed  in  little  drawers  where  the  air  is 
made  very  warm,  and  then  in  similar  little  drawers  where  it  is  more  than 
freezing  cold. 

Spectacles.— The  white  lens  in  use  in  the  ordinary  spectacle  of  com- 
merce is  made  of  the  common  window-pane  glass  rolled  in  sheets;  some- 
times it  is  made  into  balls.  From  these  are  cut  pieces  of  about  one  and  a 
quarter  to  one  and  a  half 
inches  in  size;  they  are  then 
taken  into  the  grinding  room 
and  each  piece  cemented 
separately  upon  what  is 
called  a  lap  of  a  semi-circu- 
lar shape.  These  are  made 
to  fit  into  a  corresponding 
curve  or  saucer,  into  which 
fine  emery  powder  is  intro- 
duced, and  subjected  to  a 
swift,  rotary  motion.  The 
gradual  curve  in  the  lap 
gives  to  the  glass  as  it  is 
ground  a  corresponding 
shape  until  the  desired  cen- 
ter is  reached;  the  lap  is 
then  taken  out  and  subjected 
to  warmth,  which  melts  the 
cement  sufficiently  to  permit 
the  glass  being  removed  and 
turned  upon  the  opposite 
side,  when  the  same  process  is  renewed.  This  being  completed,  the  lenses 
are  detached  again  from  the  lap  and  taken  to  another  department,  where 
they  are  shaped  to  fit  the  frames.  This  is  accomplished  by  a  machine  ol 
extreme  delicacy.  Each  piece  of  glass  is  put  separately  upon  a  rest,  when  a 
diamond  is  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  moving  in  the  form  of  an  oval,  thus  cut- 
ting the  desired  size;  but  the  edges,  of  course,  are  rough  and  sharp,  and 
must  be  beveled.  For  this  purpose  they  are  turned  over  to  another  set  of 
hands,  mostly  girls,  who  have  charge  of  the  grindstones,  which  are  about 
six  inches  in  thickness.  Each  operator  is  provided  with  a  gauge;  the  glass 
is  taken  between  the  forefinger  and  the  thumb,  and  held  sufficiently  side- 
ways to  produce  half  the  desired  bevel;  when  this  is  attained  it  is  again 
turned  and  the  other  side  of  the  bevel  completed.  During  this  process  it  is 
constantly  gauged  in  order  to  ascertain  that  the  frame  will  close  upon  it 
without  too  much  pressure,  which  would  break  the  lens.  The  next  process 
to  which  the  lens  is  subjected  is  that  of  "  focusing,"  and  requires  extreme 


WATCH-MAKING. — FIEING  THE  DIALS. 


262      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

care.  The  person  having  this  department  to  attend  to  is  placed  in  a  small 
room  alone;  across  the  entrance  is  hung  a  curtain  which  is  only  drawn 
aside  sufficiently  to  admit  the  required  amount  of  light  from  a  window  sev- 
eral feet  away,  upon  one  of  the  top  panes  of  which  is  placed  a  piece  of 
heavy  cardboard  with  a  small  hole  cut  in  the  center  representing  the  bull's 
eye  of  a  target  Through  this  the  rays  of  light  shine  upon  the  lens  in  the 
hands  of  a  workman,  and  are  reflected  through  it  to  a  dark  background. 
The  lens  is  then  moved  back  and  forth  upon  an  inch  measure  until  the 
proper  focus  is  attained.  Say,  for  instance,  the  extreme  end  of  the  measure 
is  sixty- two  inches,  the  lens  is  placed  at  that,  but  does  not  focus;  it  is 
gradually  moved  along  inch  by  inch,  until,  perhaps,  it  is  brought  to  thirty- 
six  inches.  At  this  the  proper  height  of  center  or  focus  is  attained,  and  it  ia 
then  numbered  thirty-six.  The  same  operation  is,  of  course,  necessary  with 
every  lens.  This  accounts  for  the  numbers  which  are  upon  spectacles  or 

glasses  of  any  kind  when 
purchased. 

Piano-Making.— Al- 
most most  universal  in  use 
as  is  the  piano,  few  people 
know  how  intricate  an  in- 
strument it  is;  how  many 
and  delicate  are  its  pro- 
cesses of  manufacture;  or 
are  aware  that  years  must 
elapse  between  the  cutting 
of  the  various  kinds  of 
wood  from  which  it  is 
made,  and  its  final  appear- 
ance complete  and  beauti- 
ful. The  manufacture  of 
the  instrument  gives  em- 
ployment to  a  great  variety 
of  artisans,  among  whom 
the  work  of  the  several 
parts  is  minutely  divided; 


PIANO-MAKING. — THE  CASE  BOOM. 


there  are  the  key  makers,  hammer  makers,  hammer  leatherers,  string 
makers,  stringers,  case  makers,  finishers,  etc.  The  construction  is  a  slow 
process,  and  cannot  well  be  hurried,  a  grand  piano  usually  requiring  to  be 
six  months  in  making.  One  curious  sight  is  a  huge  log  of  rosewood  being 
gradually  sawed  into  the  thin  strips  used  for  veneering.  The  machine 
passes  to  and  fro,  shaving  off  only  one  veneer  at  a  time,  the  strips  growing 
larger  at  each  passage  of  the  saw,  until  the  whole  is  cut  up.  There  is  a  be- 
wildering variety  of  machinery  in  use,  each  piece  of  which  is  full  of  interest. 
The  most  delicate  operations  are  performed,  such  as  making  the  small 
"  action  screws  "  and  "  bridge  pins,"  "  caps  "  and  "  dies."  The  case  room  is 
where  the  wooden  bodies  of  the  pianos  are  veneered  and  put  together,  and 
the  adjusted  pieces  at  last  begin  to  take  a  shape  familiar  to  you.  More  in- 
teresting still,  perhaps,  is  the  room  where  the  rosewood  veneers— the  tops 
and  sides  of  the  piano— are  being  made  to  wear  the  perfectly  smooth  and 
shining  appearance  which  you  see  on  the  finished  instrument.  These  tops 
and  sides  are  first  well  varnished  in  a  large  room  devoted  to  this  work; 
then  they  are  carried  to  another  room,  where  you  see  two  men  on  each  aide 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES. 


263 


of  a  piano-top,  rapidly  rubbing  it  with  pumice  atone — a  very  hard  piece  of 
work.  Then  the  pieces  are  polished,  and  rubbed  with  "  rotten  stone,"  and 
filially  come  out  perfectly  smooth. 

Perfumery — There  is,  perhaps,  no  occupation  which  is  exactly  so 
poetical  in  its  surroundings  as  the  perfumer's  is;  that  is,  the  perfumer  who 
distills  his  essences  and  infuses  his  extracts  at  first  hand  among  the  flowers', 
and  not  among  the  chemist's  bottles  in  the  shop.  Where  he  dwells  and 
works  it  is  usually  in  the  South,  where  groves  of  oranges  and  lemons  are 
not  too  far  away  to  give  him  their  buds,  and  where  acres  of  flowers  bloom 
all  about  him— fields  of  the  violet,  of  the  rose,  of  the  geranium,  the  verbena, 
the  lily-of-the-valley,  the  jasmine,  tuberose,  hyacinth,  jonquil,  and  myrtle, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  sweet  sisterhood.  These  flowers,  each  in  its  season, 
his  employees  gather,  always  at  nightfall  or  at  early  dawn,  when  the  dew  is 
on  them.  Brought  in  in  large  hampers,  they  are  piled  handful  by  handful 
on  a  frame,  over  which  has 
previously  been  stretched  a 
cloth,  often  resembling  cot- 
ton-flannel, moistened  in 
odorless  olive  or  almond  oil. 
When  the  frame  is  filled, 
another  is  fitted  over  it,  and 
that  in  turn  is  heaped;  and 
the  fitting  and  heaping  are 
continued  till  a  ponderous 
pile  is  prepared,  which  is 
left  a  couple  of  days,  and 
then  fresh  flowers  replace 
the  first,  and  the  process  is 
repeated  every  two  days  for 
a  fortnight.  At  the  end  of 
this  time,  the  last  flowers 
being  removed,  the  cloths 
are  taken  from  the  frames, 
and  the  oil  with  which  they 
were  moistened  is  wrung 
away  from  them  under  great 

pressure,  and  is  found  to  be  heavily  and  delicionsly  charged  with  the  aroma 
of  the  flowers  used.  In  order  to  muke  the  finest  extracts,  this  oil  is  used 
with  double  its  weight  of  pure  rectified  spirit  in  a  vessel  known  among 
cooks  as  a  digester;  that  is,  a  porcelain  or  block-tin  kettle  that  fits  in  an- 
other kettle,  the  outer  one  filled  with  boiling  water.  In  this  vessel  the  con- 
tents digest  during  three  or  four  days,  being  very  frequently  shaken  the 
while.  Then,  having  been  set  to  cool,  the  spirit  is  decanted  into  another 
vessel  holding  the  same  quantity  of  the  perfumed  oil,  and  the  process  is  re- 
peated. After  the  third  repetition  the  spirit  has  taken  up  enough  of  the 
perfume,  and  it  is  carefully  decanted  from  the  oil,  for  the  last  time,  through 
a  tube,  one  end  of  which  is  filled  with  cotton-wool;  and  it  is  then  pro- 
nounced to  be  the  choicest  extract  known,  usually  called  "  triple-extract," 
possessing  an  exquisite  delicacy  that  belongs  to  no  other  preparation. 

Soap. —Soap  i«  a  compound  formed  by  the  union  of  an  unctuoni  sub- 
stance and  an  alkali.    Soaps  are  of  two  kinds,  hard  and  soft,  differing  from 


PIANO-MAKING. — THE  POLISHING  BOOM. 


264      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

each,  other  in  the  materials  used  in  their  manufacture,  and  in  the  uses  to 
which  they  are  applied;  the  latter  kind  being  chiefly  used  in  cleansing  of 
stufls  and  silks.  Hard  soaps  are  made  from  animal  fate,  or  vegetable  fat 
oils,  and  soda;  soft  soaps  of  fish  oil  or  vegetable  drying  oils,  and  potash; 
soda  soaps  are  invariably  harder  than  potash  soaps,  when  the  oleaginous 
substance  is  the  same.  Soap  purifies  only  by  virtue  of  its  alkali,  part  of 
which  combines  with  the  greasy  matter  to  be  removed  by  washing. 

The  soda  is  chiefly  obtained  from  the  decomposition  of  sea  salt,  the  lye 
being  frequently  made  with  the  unpurified  soda  in  the  state  of  black-ash. 
The  potash  is  obtained  by  calcinizing  wood-ashes.  The  principal  oily  in- 
gredients are  tallow  or  animal  fat,  and  palm-oil,  which  is  obtained  from  the 
fruit  of  the  Elais  Guianensis,  or  oil  palm,  a  native  of  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  where  it  is  extensively  cultivated.  Olive  oil,  whale,  seal,  and  cod 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  SOAP. 

oil  are  also  used  in  smaller  quantities;  a  portion  of  resin  is  put  into  yellow 
soap. 

The  whole  quantity  of  tallow  or  oil  intended  to  be  used  is  put  into  the 
soap-pan  (a  large  iron  boiler)  at  once,  but  the  alkali  is  supplied  at  several 
successive  times,  the  exhausted  lyes  being  pumped  out  and  fresh  ones 
added;  a  quantity  of  salt  is  put  into  the  pan  when  it  is  desired  to  separate 
the  soap  from  the  lye  in  which  it  is  suspended.  Two  or  three  boilings  are 
usually  given  to  it  for  as  many  successive  days. 

When  the  soap  is  properly  formed,  the  lye  is  carefully  separated  from  it, 
and  then  it  is  removed  in  buckets,  to  the  "  frame  room,"  where  it  is  poured 
into  large  frames  which  are  like  bins,  their  sides  being  bolted  together. 
Here  the  pasty  mass  is  stirred  and  raked  about  with  a  little  water  to  make 
the  grain  finer  and  more  equable,  and  it  is  then  allowed  to  solidify;  when  it 
is  quite  firm  the  frame  is  unbolted  and  tak«n  off,  and  a  block  of  soap  re- 
mains, which  is  cut  up  into  bars  and  stowed  away  to  dry.  Soft  soaps  are 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES. 


265 


made  in  a  similar  manner,  only  tlic  exhausted  lyes  are  not  pumped  off. 
These  soaps  always  contain  half  their  weight  of  water;  hard  soaps  may  be 
reckoned  to  contain  one  part  alkali,  nine  parts  greasy  matter,  and  five  or  six 
parts  water. 

Leather. — This  useful  article  consists  essentially  of  the  skins  of  ani- 
mals chemically  altered  by  the  vegetable  principle  called  tannin  or  tannic 
acid,  so  as  to  arrest  decomposition.  The  skins  of  all  animals  used  in  the 
production  of  leather  consist  chiefly  of  gelatine,  a  substance  which  easily 
enters  into  chemical  combination  with  the  tannic  acid  found  in  the  bark  of 
most  kinds  of  trees,  and  forms  what  may  be  termed  an  insoluble  lanno- 
gelaiin.  This  is  the  whole  theory  of  tanning,  or  converting  the  skins  of  ani- 
mals into  leather.  Formerly,  oak-bark  was  supposed  to  be  the  only  tanning 
material  of  any 
value;  but  lately, 
very  numerous  ad- 
ditions have  been 
made  to  this  branch 
of  economic  botany. 
In  addition  to  the 
process  of  tanning 
in  making  leather, 
there  are  other 
modes,  one  of  which 
is  tawing,  another 
dressing  in  oil.  The 
following  are  the 
skins  which  form 
the  staple  of  our 
leather  manufac- 
ture: ox,  oow,  calf, 
and  kip,  buffalo, 
horse,  sheep,  lamb, 
goat,  kid,  deer, 
dog,  seal,  and  hog. 

Starcli.-Starch 
or  amylaceous  mat- 
ter is  an  organized  A  TAN-YABD. 
substance    of  the 

class  known  as  carbo-hydrates,  which  occurs  in  roundish  or  oval  grains  in 
the  cellular  tissue  of  certain  parts  of  plants.  It  is  very  widely  diffused 
through  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  is  especially  abundant  in  the  seeds  of 
the  cereals,  in  the  seeds  of  leguminous  plants  such  as  peas  and  beans,  in 
the  tuber  of  the  potato,  in  the  roots  of  arrowroot  and  tapioca,  in  the  pith  of 
the  sago  palm,  etc.  The  grains  of  starch  from  the  same  kind  of  plant  are 
tolerably  uniform  in  size  and  shape,  but  vary  in  different  species  of  plants 
from  l-260th  to  less  than  l-3000th  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  and  while  some 
are  circular  or  oval,  others  are  angular;  moreover,  among  other  differences, 
some  (chiefly  the  larger  grains)  exhibit  a  series  of  concentric  rings,  while  in 
others  no  rings  are  apparent;  and  while  the  grains  of  potato-starch,  if  illum- 
inated by  polarized  light,  with  a  prism  placed  between  the  object  and  the  eye, 
present  a  well-marked  black  cross,  in  wheat-starch  no  such  cross  is  seen. 


266      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Ordinary  commercial  starch  occurs  either  as  a  white,  glistening  powder, 
or  in  masses  which  are  readily  pulverized;  and  when  pressed  between  the 
fingers  it  evolves  a  slight  but  peculiar  sound.  It  is  heavier  than  water,  and 
is  insoluble  in  cold  water,  alcohol,  and  ether.  If,  however,  it  be  placed  in 
water  at  a  temperature  of  150°,  its  granules  swell  irorn  the  absorption  of 
fluid,  and  the  mixture  assumes  a  viscid,  pasty  consistence.  Dilute  acids 
rapidly  induce  a  similar  change,  even  without  the  agency  of  heat;  and  if 
heated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  the  starch  is  first  converted  into  dex- 
trine, and  finally  into  glycose  or  grape-sugar;  and  manufacturing  chemists 
avail  themselves  of  this  property  to  obtain  glycose  on  a  large  scale  from 
starch.  Starch  dissolves  in  cold  nitric  acid,  and  on  the  addition  of  water  to 
this  solution,  a  white,  tasteless,  insoluble  precipitate  falls,  which  is  known 
as  Xyloidin,  and  explodes  violently  when  struck  by  a  hammer,  or  when 
heated  up  to  about  350°.  The  composition  of  this  substance  is  not  positively 
known,  but  in  all  probability  one  or  two  equivalents  of  the  hydrogen  of  the 
starch  (most  probably  two)  are  replaced  by  a  corresponding  number  of 
equivalents  of  peroxide  of  nitrogen. 

The  reactions  of  starch  with  iodine  and  bromine  are  very  remarkable. 
Iodine  communicates  to  it  a  very  beautiful  purple  color,  and  hence  starch- 
paste  serves  as  a  delicate  test  for  free  iodine.  The  purple  color  which  the 
iodine  gives  to  the  starch  granules  appears  not  to  depend  on  a  chemical 
combination,  because  on  the  application  of  heat  the  color  disappears,  and 
reappears  on  cooling.  Bromine  communicates  a  brilliant  orange  tint  to 
starch — a  reaction  by  which  the  presence  of  free  bromine  may  be  readily  de- 
tected. When  heated  to  a  temperature  of  from  340°  to  400°,  dry  starch  is 
converted  into  Dextrine,  or  British  gum.  At  a  higher  temperature,  it  under- 
goes decomposition,  and  yields  on  dry  distillation  the  same  products  as 
sugar.  When  heated  in  steam  under  pressure,  it  also  passes  into  dextrine, 
and  finally  into  glycose.  The  addition  of  a  little  sulphuric  acid  hastens 
these  changes. 

During  the  germination  of  seed,  the  starch  undergoes  a  kind  of  fermen- 
tation, and  is  converted  into  a  mixture  of  dextrine  and  glycose.  This  change 
is  due  to  the  action  of  a  peculiar  ferment  termed  Diastase,  which  exists  in 
all  germinating  seeds  during  the  process  of  growth,  and  is  probably  a  mix- 
ture of  albumen  and  gluten  in  a  special  stage  of  decomposition.  Various 
animal  matters,  as,  for  example,  saliva,  pancreatic  juice,  the  serum  of  the 
blood,  bile,  etc.,  exert  the  same  action  on  starch  as  diastase.  On  treating 
starch  with  chlorine,  a  remarkable,  colorless,  oily  fluid,  Chloral,  is  obtained. 
On  prolonged  exposure  to  the  air,  starch  paste  becomes  acid,  in  consequence 
of  the  formation  of  lactic  acid. 

Starch  is  usually  obtained  by  a  simply  mechanical  separation  of  it  from 
the  other  ingredients  with  which  it  is  associated;  advantage  being  taken  of 
its  insolubility  in  cold  water.  The  details  of  the  mode  of  separation  vary 
according  to  the  source  from  which  it  is  procured.  We  extract  from  Miller's 
"  Organic  Chemisty  "  the  method  of  procuring  potato  starch:  "  This  variety 
is  prepared  on  a  large  scale  from  potatoes,  which  contain  about  20  per  cent^ 
of  amylaceous  matter.  The  cellular  tissue  of  the  tuber  does  not  exceed  2 
per  cent,  of  the  mass;  while  of  the  remainder  about  76  per  cent,  consists  of 
water,  and  the  rest  of  small  quantities  of  sugar,  salts,  and  azotized  matters. 
In  order  to  extract  the  starch,  the  tubers  are  first  freed  from  adhering  earth 
by  a  thorough  washing,  and  are  then  raspad  by  machinery.  The  pulp  thus 
obtained  is  received  upon  a  sieve,  and  is  washed  continually  by  a  gentle 
etream  of  water  so  long  as  the  waahings  run  through  milky.  This  milkinesB 


VBSfVL    AKTR   AND    VAJfVJfAOTVB&ti.          267 

is  due  to  the  granules  of  starch  which  are  held  in  suspension.  The  milky 
liquid  is  received  into  vats,  in  which  the  amylaceous  matter  is  allowed  to 
subside;  the  supernatant  water  is  drawn  off,  and  the  deposit  is  repeatedly 
washed  with  fresh  water  until  the  washings  are  no  longer  colored.  Tho 
Etarch  is  then  suspended  in  a  small  portion  of  water  run  through  a  fine  sieve 
to  keep  back  any  portions  of  Hand,  and  after  having  been  again  allowed  to 
settle,  is  drained  in  baskets  lined  with  ticking;  the  mass  is  then  placed  upon 
a  porous  floor  of  half-baked  tiles,  and  dried  in  a  current  of  air,  which  is  af 
first  of  the  natural  temperature;  the  drying  is  completed  by  the  application 
of  a  moderate  artificial  heat."  To  obtain  starch  from  wheat  or  rice,  a  more 
complicated  process  is  required,  as  the  large  quantity  of  gluten  which  ia 
associated  with  the  starch  in  these  grains  requires  to  be  removed  either  by 


MAPLE  SUGAR.— GATHEBING  THE  SAP. 

fermentation,  or,  according  to  Jones's  patent,  by  a  weak  alkaline  solution, 
which  dissolves  the  gluten,  but  does  not  affect  the  starch  granules. 

Commercially,  there  are  two  classes  of  starch — those  used  for  food,  and 
those  used  for  manufacturing  purposes.  The  latter  are  chiefly  made  from 
wheat,  rice,  and  potatoes;  but  in  addition,  large  quantities  of  sago  starch  are 
prepared  in  India,  and  small  quantities  are  from  time  to  time  prepared  from 
other  sources,  such  as  the  fruit  of  the  horse-chestnut,  etc. 

Maple  Sugar. — The  sugar  maple  tree  resembles  the  sycamore,  and 
abounds  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  British  pos- 
sessions, where  large  quantities  of  sugar  are  made  from  it.  The  trunk  of 
the  sugar  maple  is  generally  more  slender  than  that  of  the  sycamore.  To 
obtain  sugar,  holes  are  bored  in  the  trunk  when  the  sap  is  ascending,  early 
in  spring,  before  the  winter  frost  has  passe  i  away,  in  an  obliquely  ascending 
direction,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  ground,  at  first  only  to  the  depth  of 
half  an  inch,  but  afterwards  deepened  to  two  inches;  and  the  sap  thus  col- 
lected is  evaporated  W  boilers  over  a  brisk  fire,  to  the  cenaistency  of  syrup, 


268       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

strained  and  poured  into  molds,  in  which  it  crystallizes  into  a  coarse  gray 
or  brown  colored  sugar.  It  is  sometimes  afterwards  refined.  Four  gallons 
of  sap  yield  about  one  pound  of  sugar.  A  single  tree  yields  from  two  to 
six  pounds  in  a  season.  During  the  sugar  making  season,  sheds  are  erected 
in  the  woods  for  the  boiling  and  other  processes  of  the  manufacture.  The 
sap  cannot  be  kept  long  after  being  collected. 

Wall  Paper — In  the  manufacture  of  wall  paper,  the  "  blotching  ma- 
chine "  performs  the  first  operation.  A  web  of  blank  paper  is  set  in  a  reel 
behind  one  of  these  machines.  The  free  end  of  the  paper  on  the  web  is 
pulled  forward  and  placed  between  two  cylinders  which  drag  it  into  the 
machine,  where  a  roller,  part  of  which  is  working  in  a  "  color  pan  "  filled 
with  thin  paint,  is  working.  This  roller  puts  a  large  quantity  of  color  upon 
the  paper,  and  a  set  of  flat  brushes  called  "  jiggers  "  work  rapidly  back  and 
forward,  working  this  coloring  matter  in  and  spreading  it  evenly  over  the 
surface  of  the  paper,  so  that  when  the  cylinders  of  the  rear  end  of  the  ma- 
chine drag  it  out  it  is  thoroughly  painted  in  water  color  on  one  side. 

As  it  issues  from  the  blotching  machine  a  workman  takes  the  free  end  of 
the  paper  and  wraps  it  around  a  stick,  which  is  carried  up  an  incline  by  two 
parallel  endless  chains.  After  eighteen  feet  of  the  paper  have  run  out,  these 
chains  pick  up  another  stick  which  lies  across  them  and  bears  a  paper  upon 
it.  This  last  stick  chases  the  first  one  up  and  gains  upon  it  till  only  a  foot 
behind,  when  it  stops  gaining  and  both  travel  along  maintaining  that  rela- 
tive distance,  with  the  paper  between  them  looped  down  till  it  nearly  touches 
the  floor.  A  hundred  other  sticks  do  precisely  as  the  second  one  did,  and 
the  result  is  that  there  are  soon  a  hundred  loops  of  paper,  each  loop  con- 
taining eighteen  feet.  The  elevated  railway  of  parallel  chains  on  which  the 
sticks  from  which  the  paper  is  looped  are  traveling  turns  corners  of  the 
building  at  will,  and  soon  the  blotching  machine  has  run  the  whole  web 
out,  and  it  is  hanging  in  loops  over  a  system  of  steam  pipes,  which  dry  it  so 
fast,  as  it  moves  along,  that  it  is  perfectly  dry  before  it  reaches  the  farther 
end  of  the  chain  railway,  where  a  boy  with  a  reel  winds  it  back  into  web 
form  again. 

The  designs  are  first  sketched  out  on  paper  and  then  transferred  by  an 
ordinary  process  on  the  faces  of  rollers  made  to  suit  the  size  required— an 
eighteen  inch  design,  for  instance,  requiring  a  roller  six  inches  in  diameter. 
May  be  the  design  requires  printing  in  twelve  colors  (that  is  the  highest 
number  ordinarily  run);  to  do  this  twelve  rollers  would  be  prepared,  each 
having  the  design  upon  it  and  each  of  a  size  exactly  equal  to  that  of  the 
others.  When  the  rollers  are  all  prepared  the  artist  will  direct  skilled  work- 
men who  are  with  him  to  fix  one  up  to  take  the  brown,  another  red,  another 
yellow,  and  so  on  with  all  the  other  colors.  Let  the  brown  color  serve  as 
an  example  for  all. 

The  workman  takes  it  to  his  bench,  where  there  is  a  vise  and  hammers 
and  files  and  piles  of  brass  made  into  thick  ribbons  and  rods.  Here  he  seta 
the  roller  in  the  grasp  of  the  vise  and  goes  to  work  on  it.  Every  bit  of  the 
design  which  is  to  be  in  brown  is  traced  out  for  him  and  he  reproduces  it  in 
relief  on  the  roller  with  his  bronze  wires  and  rods  and  ribbons,  which  he 
drives  into  the  hard  wood  so  solidly  that  they  stick  there  as  if  they  had 
grown.  The  brass  wire  can  be  given  any  ordinary  shape  necessary  by  draw- 
ing it  by  machinery  through  a  hole  of  corresponding  shape  in  a  steel  bar. 
This  is  the  way  that  the  roller,  which  will  print  in  brown,  is  first  fitted  up. 
When  it  is  finished  it  bears  on  its  face,  in  raised  brass,  fragments  of  leaves 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES.         269 

and  parts  of  birds  and  ears  of  wheat,  and  little  and  apparently  unnecessary 
and  unshaped  points  of  metal,  all  of  which  at  the  proper  place  and  time  will 
put  the  brown  coloring  and  shading  m  exactly  the  place  where  the  designer 
wants  it  to  go. 

When  the  roller  has  had  all  its  share  of  the  design  hammered  into  it,  it 
is  taken  away  to  a  turning-lathe,  when  the  face  of  all  the  brass  work  is 
struck  on  one  side  by  pumice  stone  and  on  the  other  by  a  file,  and  gradually 
brought  down  to  perfect  smoothness  and  evenness  and  the  exact  size 
needed.  All  the  other  rollers  are  treated  in  the  way  indicated,  each  getting 
its  share  of  the  design  hammered  into  its  face  in  brass  work  and  each  after- 
ward being  reduced  to  smoothness  and  the  proper  size  by  the  file  and 
pumice  stone.  It  sometimes  costs  one  thousand  dollars  to  get  up  a  set  of 


MANUFAnrOBE  OI  TTJBPENTIXE,   BESIN  AND  TAB. — FIG.   1. 

rollers  hi  this  fashion,  and  they,  may  be,  take  three  or  tour  weeks  in 
preparation. 

When  the  rollers  are  prepared  they  are  taken  to  a  press  which  consists 
of  a  very  large  cylinder  of  the  width  of  ordinary  wall  paper.  Around  the 
bottom  and  sides  of  this  cylinder  are  grooves  into  which  the  rods  on  the  ends 
of  the  rollers  fit,  the  faces  of  the  rollers  just  touching  the  cylinder  when 
they  are  in  position.  To  each  of  the  rollers  comes  from  below  it  an  endless 
cloth  band,  which  works  upward  from  a  color  pan  in  which  the  coloring 
matter  to  be  used  on  the  particular  parts  of  the  design  carried  on  the  roller 
in  question  is  lying  in  the  shape  of  a  thin  liquid.  Each  of  the  rollers  is 
registered,  that  is,  turned  so  that  the  portion  of  the  design  upon  it  will  ex- 
actly strike  in  the  spot  necessitated  by  the  relative  position  of  the  other 
rollers.  When  all  is  thus  arranged  and  the  paper,  which  has  previously 
passed  through  the  blotcher,  is  conducted  between  the  cvlinder  and  th$ 


270       CYULOP^DIA    OF    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

first  roller,  the  machine  ia  started;  cylinder  and  rollers  revolve  at  once, 
each  of  the  latter  printing  its  color  just  where  it  was  intended,  and  a  steel 
ecraper  called  a  doctor,  lying  at  each  of  the  endless  cloth  bands  spoken  of, 
seeing  to  it  that  not  too  much  liquid  from  the  other  pans  gets  on  the  rollers. 
The  press  works  very  rapidly,  throwing  off  ten  rolls  of  the  paper  a  minute, 
and  each  roll  centains  sixteen  yards. 

Turpentine,  Resin  and  Tar — The  long-leaved  pine  of  the  South- 
ern States  furnishes  the  chief  source  of  supply  of  turpentine,  resin,  tar  and 
pitch.  This  tree  grows  from  the  northeastern  boundary  of  North  Carolina, 
along  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Florida,  across  that  State  to  the  Gulf,  and  thenco 
to  Louisiana,  in  a  belt  averaging  one  hundred  miles  in  width. 

The  first  step  is  to  obtain  the  crude  turpentine.    This  is  the  natural  juice 


MANUFACTURE  OP  TUBPENTTOE,  BESIK  AND  TAB.— FIG.  2. 

of  the  pine  tree,  and  it  is  sometimes  called  white  turpentine  and  gum  tur- 
pentine. It  is  a  mixture  of  the  essential  oil  known  as  spirits  of  turpentine 
and  of  resin.  A  half-moon  shaped  box  is  cut  in  the  tree,  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  shape  of  this  "box"  will  be  seen  in 
Figs.  1,  2,  3  and  4.  The  box  cutting  commences  about  the  first  of  Decem- 
ber and  continues  till  March — perhaps  a  few  weeks  longer  if  the  spring  is 
late.  After  cutting,  the  boxes  are  "  cornered  "  by  taking  out  a  triangular 
piece  at  each  end  of  the  half  moon.  This  is  the  commencement  of  the  regu- 
lar season,  and  the  boxes  are  now  all  tasked  off.  A  "  task  "  is  usually  ten 
thousand  boxes,  but  we  have  known  hands  to  tend  eighteen  thousand. 
These  must  be  cornered  once,  and  "  hacked  "  about  six  times,  from  the  first 
of  spring  until  into  November.  The  dipping  (shown  in  Fig.  2)  is  done  by 
task  work,  too,  so  many  barrels  or  boxes  per  day  being  a  task.  This  is 
accomplished  with  a  spoon-shaped  instrument  and  a  peculiar  twist  of  thq 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES. 


m. 


wrist,  only  well  done  by  long  practice.  Two  dippers  generally  attend  one 
hacker.  Hacking  is  the  making  a  groove-shape  cut  on  each  side,  downward 
to  the  center  of  the  half  moon.  The  grooves  can  be  seen  in  all  the  cuts. 

The  "hacker "is  used  with  a  downward  stroke,  and  has  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  handle  a  weight  of  lead  or  iron,  to  give  great  impetus  to  the  blow. 
The  barrels  for  filling  are  placed  at  intervals  through  the  woods;  the  dipper 
gathers  his  gum  in  a  rude  bucket,  and  empties  it  into  the  barrels,  which, 
when  filled,  are  hauled  off.  A  frequent  mode  of  hauling  is  seen  in  Fig.  1; 
the  same  cut  shows  a  primitive  but  cheap  mode  of  "  rolling  "  tar  to  market. 
Both  articles  are  frequently  rafted  to  a  seaport  between  sticks  of  hewr 
timber. 

The  first  year's  operation  produces  "virgin  dip,"  the  second  "yellor 


MANUFACTURE   OF  TURPENTINE,   RESIN    AND  TAR. — FIG.  3. 

dip,"  the  third  some  common  yellow  dip  and  scrape;  then  the  further  pro- 
duct  of  the  trees  is  all  "  scrape."  The  virgin  dip  is,  when  carefully 
gathered,  a  honey-like  gum,  of  whitish  appearance.  From  it  are  produced 
No.  1,  pale,  extra,  and  window-glass  resins.  It  yields  about  seven  gallons  of 
spirits,  and  not  quite  three-fourths  of  a  barrel  of  resin  to  the  barrel  (two 
hundred  and  eighty  pounds).  Yellow  dip  yields  over  three-fourths  of  resin, 
and  about  six  gallons  of  spirits  to  the  two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  of 
gum.  Scrape  yields  about  the  same.  "  Scrape  "  is  the  guru  which  gathers 
on  the  face  of  the  tree  or  box  when  worked  up  three,  four  or  more  feet 
higher.  It  is  a  white  and  cheesy-like  substance.  The  operation  of  chipping 
the  box  face  and  gathering  the  scrape  is  seen  in  Figs.  3  and  4.  With  care  a 
very  light  resin  can  be  made  from  it. 

The  operation  of  distilling  the  gum  is  carried  on  in  turnip-shaped  copper 
atilla  of  a  capacity  from  ten  barrels  up  to  sixty — the  ordinary  uizs  being; 


272       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

twenty  and  thirty  barrels.  They  are  bricked  tip  at  the  sides,  and  the  fire 
strikes  directly  on  tht>  bottom.  The  top  has  a  large  hole  for  the  "  cap,'" 
•which  connects  with  the  worm  for  condensing  the  spirits,  and  a  small  hole 
through  which  the  "  stiller  "  examines  the  state  of  his  charge,  and  lets  hi 
•water  as  it  may  be  deemed  necessary.  The  resin,  being  a  residuum,  is  let  off 
on  one  side  into  vats,  through  strainers,  from  which  it  is  dipped  into  barrels 
to  cool.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  use  steam  as  a  heating  agent, 
but  not  yet  with  success.  If  the  resin  is  not  entirely  free  of  either  spirits 
or  water  it  is  opaque  and  loses  value. 

The  rear  of  the  stills  and  the  resin  vats  are  shown  in  Fig.  5.  Probably 
the  largest  distillery  in  the  country  is  at  Wilmington,  N.  C. 

In  trees  deadened  by  fire,  stumps  of  trees  cut  down  when  the  sap  is  up, 


MANTJFACTUBE  OF  TUKPENTINE,  BESIK  AND  TAB. — FIG.  4. 

and  old  box  trees  left  standing,  a  peculiar  transformation  of  the  wood  takes 
place;  all  its  pores  become  filled  with  pitchy  matter,  it  increases  greatly  in 
weight,  and  will  take  fire  almost  as  readily  as  gunpowder.  In  this  state  it 
is  called  "  light  wood,"  because  it  is  used  for  kindling,  and  with  the  poor  as 
a  substitute  for  candles  or  other  light.  The  smothered  burning  of  this  wood 
is  the  source  of  tar.  The  wood  is  split  into  billets  three  or  four  feet  long 
and  about  three  inches  in  diameter.  To  form  a  tar  kiln  the  operation  is  com- 
menced by  scooping  out  of  the  ground  a  saucer-shaped  foundation,  making 
a  hole  in  its  middle,  and  thence  running  a  wooden  spout  outside  the  rim  of 
the  foundation.  Billets  of  wood  are  then  placed  radiating  to  this  center  hole 
and  piled  upward,  each  upper  and  outer  stick  lapping  a  little  over,  so  that 
when  finished,  the  pile  (as  shown  in  Fig.  6)  resembles  a  cone  with  the  point 
cut  off,  small  end  down;  logs  of  wood  and  green  twigs  are  then  piled  around, 
and  the  k|1n  thus  made  is  covered  with  dirt,  the  top  as  well  as  sides,  The 


Vff£FUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES.         273 

fire  is  then  lighted  at  the  top  eaves  of  the  kiln,  and  the  tar  trickles  down  to 
the  center  hole,  whence  it  runs  out  through  the  spout.  A  kiln  yields  fifty, 
one  hundred  or  more  barrels  of  tar,  according  to  its  size.  Large  iron  retorts 
have  been  used,  but  the  project  is  not  sufficiently  greater  or  more  cleanly 
to  pay  for  increased  cost.  In  process  of  distillation  a  tar  and  pitch  are 
obtained.  Pitch  is  tar  boiled  down  until  all  its  volatile  matter  is  driven  off. 

Paper  Money. — In  the  Treasury  Department  at  Washington  every 
dollar  of  United  States  money  is  made.  Almost  a  million  of  dollars  of  old, 
worn-out  money  is  counted  and  destroyed  there  daily.  Of  course  new  bills 
are  printed  to  supply  the  place  of  those  worn  out  and  destroyed. 

When  they  are  destroyed  they  are  first  counted  by  several  persons,  so 
that  there  can  be  no  mistake,  and  the  amounts  marked.  The  money  is  then 


MANUFACTUBE  OF  TURPENTINE,   EE8IN  AND  TAB. — FIG.  5. 

placed  hi  a  large  receiver  of  iron,  which  is  nearly  the  shape  of  two  tin  pans 
with  the  edges  shut  together,  only  very  much  larger — six  or  seven  feet  in 
diameter.  To  this  iron  receiver  there  is  a  door  which  is  locked  with  three 
locks,  each  lock  requiring  a  different  kind  of  key.  Three  men,  who  are  ap- 
pointed La  accordance  with  law  to  witness  the  destruction  of  this  money, 
have  each  one  of  the  keys  to  this  door.  No  one  of  the  men  can  lend  his  key 
to  either  of  the  others  or  to  any  other  person.  Now,  at  the  proper  time  of 
day  these  three  men  get  together,  and  each  one  takes  his  key,  and  they  un- 
lock the  three  locks  of  the  door,  which  is  then  opened.  All  this  old  money 
— eo  mar.y  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars — is  then  carefully  placed  in  the 
receiver,  the  door  is  closed,  and  the  three  men  securely  lock  it.  Water  is 
then  let  in  through  a  pipe,  and  a  machine  inside  beats  and  grinds  all  these 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  into  the  finest  pulp.  When  it  is  sufficiently 
ground  it  is  taken  out  and  used  to  make  paper  of. 


274      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

As  previously  stated,  new  bills  are  printed  to  take  the  place  of  those 
destroyed,  and  also  to  supply  money  required  to  be  used  in  the  country.  If 
you  will  look  very  carefully  indeed  at  a  new  bill,  you  will  notice  that  it  is 
made  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  paper,  very  different  from  newspaper.  It  is  very 
tough.  Take  a  new  bill,  and  you  will  find  in  the  paper  itself  something  that 
looks  like  a  fine  kind  of  hair  running  through  each  bill  in  one  particular 
place.  Now,  that  paper  is  made  just  so  in  order  that  no  one  may  be  able  to 
counterfeit  the  bills,  for  the  Government  takes  care  that  no  one  shall  ever 
pet  even  a  sheet  of  that  paper.  So  if  a  bill  hasn't  got  those  hairs  running 
through  it  in  a  particular  place,  we  know  at  once  it  is  worthless,  or  a 
"  counterfeit"  bill. 

This  paper  is  first  made  in  large  sheets,  and  every  sheet  that  comes  in 
to  be  printed  is  carefully  counted,  so  that  if  a  single  sheet  were  stolen  or 


MANUFACTURE  OF  TUKPENTINE,   EESIN  AND  TAB. — FIG.   6. 

lost  the  theft  or  loss  would  be  promptly  detected.  When  the  paper  comes 
in,  in  great  packages  of  these  large  sheets,  each  sheet  is  carefully  moistened, 
so  that  it  will  take  up  the  ink  properly,  and  is  then  placed  under  a  press, 
•when  a  die  or  stamp  of  the  most  perfect  workmanship  makes  an  impression, 
of  one  color  only,  on  one  side.  When  it  becomes  dry  it  is  moistened  again, 
and  is  again  placed  under  a  press,  and  another  impression  of  another  color 
is  made,  and  this  process  is  repeated  many  times,  till  all  the  colors  of  both 
sides  have  been  impressed.  This  printing  is  done  in  sheets,  several  bills 
being  printed  at  once  on  one  sheet.  After  this  is  done  the  sheets  are  dried 
and  put  under  great  pressure  to  take  all  wrinkles  out  and  make  them 
entirely  smooth.  The  bills  are  then  trimmed  and  separated  by  machinery, 
and  numbered  by  a  curious  little  machine  that  changes  its  number  at 
every  impression,  thus,  1,  2,  3,  4,  etc.,  so  that  no  two  bills  of  the  same  kind 
bare  the  same  number  on  them. 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES.          275 

Postal  Cards The  country  uses  over  three  hundred  million  postal 

cards  a  year.  This  is  a  million  a  day,  or  several  tons  every  twenty-four 
hours.  They  are  manufactured  by  private  corporations  or  firms,  the  Gov- 
ernment inviting  bids  and  awarding  the  contract  for  their  manufacture  at 
stated  intervals.  The  sheets  are  about  thirty  by  twenty-two  inches  in  size, 
and  are  just  fitted  by  the  plates  from  which  the  cards  are  printed,  each  plats 
covering  forty  cards,  four  in  width  and  ten  in  length.  The  printing  is  done 
on  Hoe  super-royal  presses,  by  skillful  pressmen,  and  as  each  sheet  passe* 
into  the  press  the  number  of  cards  is  unprringly  recorded  by  registers 
attached  to  the  presses,  and  which  are  carefully  locked  every  night  to  pre- 
vent any  tampering.  The  sheets  are  then  piled  up  and  allowed  to  dry,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  be  damaged  by  future  handling.  After  drying  thor- 
oughly, the  sheets  are  then  passed  through  the  rotary  slitter — a  machine 
fitted  with  circular  knives,  which  cuts  them  into  strips  of  ten  cards  each, 
and  trims  the  edge  of  the  outside  strip.  The  strips  are  then  passed  trans- 
versely through  the  rotary  cross-cutters,  the  mechanism  of  which  is  similar 
to  the  "slitters."  The  cross-cutters  divide  the  strips  into  the  single  cards, 
which  drop  into  a  rotary  hopper  containing  ten  compartments.  As  soon  an 
each  compartment  has  received  twenty-five  cards,  the  hopper  revolves  and 
throws  the  cards  out  upon  a  table.  A  number  of  girls  then  take  them,  an<l 
bind  the  perfect  ones  in  packs  of  twenty-five  each.  Other  girls  then  take 
the  packs,  and,  after  recounting  them,  put  them  in  pasteboard  boxes  con- 
taining twenty  packs,  or  five  hundred  cards  each.  The  cards  are  then, 
ready  for  shipment  to  the  various  post-offices  throughout  the  country.  B/ 
the  stipulation  of  the  contract  the  manufacturers  are  required  to  keep  >\t 
least  ten  million  po«tal  cards  in  store  all  the  time. 

Postage  Stamps. — In  printing,  ateel  plates  are  used,  on  which  two 
hundred  stamps  are  engraved.  Two  men  are  kept  hard  at  work  covering 
them  with  colored  inks,  and  passing  them  to  a  man  and  a  girl,  who  are 
equally  busy  at  printing  them  with  large  rolling  hand-presses.  Three  of 
these  little  squads  are  employed  all  the  time,  although  ten  presses  can  be 
put  into  use  in  case  of  necessity.  After  the  small  sheets  of  paper  upon  which 
the  two  hundred  stamps  are  engraved  have  dried  enough  they  are  sent  into 
another  room  and  gammed.  The  gum  used  for  this  purpose  is  a  peculiar 
composition,  made  of  the  powder  of  dried  potatoes  and  other  vegetables, 
mixed  with  water,  which  is  better  than  any  other  material;  for  instance,  gum 
arable,  which  cracks  the  paper  badly.  This  paper  is  of  a  peculiar  texture, 
somewhat  similar  to  that  used  for  bank  notes.  After  having  been  again 
dried,  this  time  on  little  racks,  which  are  fanned  by  steam  power,  for  about 
an  hour,  they  are  put  between  sheets  of  pasteboard  and  pressed  in  hydraulic? 
presses,  capable  of  applying  a  weight  of  two  thousand  tons.  The  next  thin;; 
is  to  cut  the  sheets  in  half,  each  sheet,  of  course,  when  cut,  containing  a 
hundred  stamps.  This  is  done  by  a  girl,  with  a  large  pair  of  shears,  by  hand 
being  preferred  to  that  of  machinery,  which  method  would  destroy  too  many 
stamps.  They  are  then  passed  to  other  squads,  who,  in  as  many  operations, 
perforate  the  paper  between  the  stamps.  Next  they  are  pressed  once  more, 
and  then  packed  and  labeled,  and  stowed  away  in  another  room,  prepara- 
tory to  being  put  in  mail  bags  for  despatching  to  fulfill  orders.  If  a  single 
stamp  is  torn,  or  in  any  way  mutilated,  the  whole  sheet  of  one  hundred 
stamps  is  burned.  Five  hundred  thousand  are  burned  every  week  from 
this  cause.  For  the  past  twenty  years  not  a  sheet  has  been  lost,  such  care 
has  been  taken  in  counting  them.  Each  sheet  is  counted  eleven  tuaea. 


276       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Envelopes. — A  modern  envelope  machine  is  one  of  the  moat  interesting 
of  mechanical  novelties.  All  tLe  manual  labor  that  is  required  in  attending 
to  the  machine  is  limited  to  the  supply  from  time  to  time  of  a  pile  of  envel- 
ope blanks,  aud  the  occasional  removal  and  banding  of  the  finished  envel- 
opes. Thus  the  entire  and  various  processes  of  feeding,  gumming,  stamping, 
folding,  delivery,  and  collection  are  performed  automatically  by  a  series  of 
mechanical  operations  devised  with  the  utmost  ingenuity  and  carried  out 
in  perfection;  the  machine  withal  being  excessively  compact  and  well  ar- 
ranged. The  pile  of  envelope  blanks  being  placed  in  position  on  a  plate  at 
one  end  of  the  machine,  which  may  be  done  either  at  rest  or  in  motion,  the 
feeding  process  is  effected  by  the  simple  aid  of  intermittent  suction.  An 
elastic  tube  has  a  trumpet-shaped  brass  mouthpiece  which  descends  on  the 
uppermost  blank,  and  at  the  moment  of  contact  the  air  is  exhausted  by  a 
stroke  of  the  air-pump,  when  the  mouthpiece  rises  with  the  blank  attached; 
the  suction  being  maintained  just  sufficiently  long  to  enable  the  arm  and 
grippers,  rapidly  projected  from  the  other  side  of  the  machine,  to  seize  the 
blank,  when  the  attachment  to  the  mouthpiece  ceases  and  the  arm  shoots 
back,  drawing  the  blank  into  position  over  the  folding-box,  and  there  rap- 
idly releasing  it.  At  this  moment  the  stamping  is  effected  by  the  action  of  a 
hammer  and  die,  and  the  gum  ia  applied  in  due  place  on  the  edges  of  the 
side  flaps,  whereupon  a  plunger-head,  of  the  rectangular  form  and  size  of 
the  envelope,  descends,  carrying  the  blank  down  into  the  folding  box;  the 
naps,  thus  raised  into  a  vertical  position,  are  then  inclosed  and  folded  down 
in  proper  sequence  by  slides  working  in  the  thickness  of  the  folding  box; 
and  finally  the  bottom  of  the  box  rises  and  completes  the  operation  by  press- 
ing the  whole  against  the  slides,  so  that  the  edges  are  made  sharp  and  the 
adhesion  is  effected  and  secured.  The  slides  are  then  withdrawn,  and  the 
bottom  of  the  folding-box  drops,  allowing  the  envelope  to  drop  in  a  vertical 
position  into  the  delivery-trough  underneath,  running  across  the  machine, 
wherein,  by  a  simple  contrivance  and  combination  of  guides,  holders,  and 
pressers,  the  envelopes  as  they  drop  from  the  folding -box  are  successively, 
•uniformly  and  regularly  arranged,  and  worked  along  the  trough  ready  for 
removal  and  banding  by  the  attendant.  These  manifold  operations  are  suc- 
cessively wrought  with  such  speed  that  the  finished  envelopes  are  turned 
out  complete  at  the  rate  of  fifty  per  minute,  or  three  thousand  per  hour. 

Paper  Car  Wheels,  Etc. — Paper  car  wheels  are  'composed  entirely 
of  paper  rings  pressed  together  iinder  a  weight  of  six  tons,  and  then  fastened 
by  means  of  bolts  and  steel  tire  put  on  them,  when  they  are  ready  for  use. 
Laid  loosely,  the  rings  stack  as  high  as  the  shoulders  of  an  ordinary  man. 
Under  treatment  they  sink  to  the  thickness  required.  If  the  tire  should 
wear  or  fall  off  the  wheel,  or  the  tm.in  run  from  the  track,  there  would  be 
no  danger  of  their  breaking,  as  they  are  very  flexible,  and  would  spring. 
A  paper  ball  can  be  rendered  so  solid  that  nothing  but  a  diamond  tool  can 
cause  an  indentation  into  it.  At  the  mill  is  a  square  block  of  compressed 
paper  fastened  on  a  turning  lathe,  and  so  hard  that,  if  a  fine  steel  chisel  ia 
held  against  it  when  it  is  moving,  instead  of  cutting  the  paper  it  will  break 
the  chisel  into  a  hundred  pieces.  The  strength  is  astonishing.  You  can 
take  a  £5  note  of  the  Bank  of  England,  twist  it  into  a  kind  of  rope,  suspend 
three  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pounds  upon  one  end  of  it,  and  it  will  not  in- 
jure it  in  the  slightest  degree.  Bath  tubs  and  pots  are  formed  by  com- 
pressing the  paper  made  out  of  linen  fibres  and  annealed — that  is,  painted 
over  with  a  composition  which  becomes  a  part  thereof,  and  is  fire-proof. 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES. 


277 


The  tubs  last  indefinitely,  never  leak,  and,  put  in  the  fire,  will  not  burn  up. 
You  can  beat  on  them  with  a  hammer  and  not  injure  them.  Plates  com- 
pressed and  annealed  are  very  durable;  you  cannot  only  wash  them,  but 
drop  them  upon  the  floor  and  stand  upon  them.  The  fork  can  be  used  for 
any  practical  purpose,  and  the  knife  can  always  be  kept  sharp.  Paper  can 
be  substituted  for  wood,  converted  into  picture-frames  and  colored  like  wal- 
nut, cherry,  and  the  like.  Bedsteads  are  fashioned  the  same  as  car  wheels, 
only  of  long  strips  instead  of  rings.  They  are  very  beautiful  and  lasting. 
Cooking  or  heating  stoves  are  also  annealed,  and  it  is  impossible  to  burn 
them  out.  They  are  less  costly  than  iron.  A  house  can  be  literally  con- 
structed and  furnished  with  every  convenience  in  paper.  The  printing- 
press,  type,  and  all  the  fixtures  of  the  office  could  be  concocted  of  this  ma- 
terial, and  more  cheaply  than  of  the  ordinary  kind.  A  complete  steam- 
engine  can  be  thus  manufactured  and  do  all  required  duty.  Clothes  and 
shoes  will  come  in  the  future.  Twenty-nine  hours  are  needed  to  transfer 
linen  fibre  into  a  car 
wheel. 

Nails.— Formerly,  all 
nails  were  hand  made,  by 
forging  on  an  anvil;  and 
vast  quantities  are  still 
made  in  this  manner,  being 
preferable,  for  many  kinds 
of  carpenter's  work,  to 
those  made  by  machinery. 
The  iron  used  for  hand 
nail-making  is  sold  in  bun- 
dles, and  is  called  nail- 
rods;  it  is  either  prepared 
by  rolling  the  malleable 
iron  into  rods  or  small 
bars  of  the  required  thick- 
ness— which  process  is 
only  employed  for  very 

fine  qualities — or  by  cutting  plate  iron  into  strips  by  means  of  rolling-shears; 
these  shears  consist  of  two  powerful  revolving  shafts,  upon  which  are  fixed 
disks  of  hard  steel  with  squared  edges.  The  disks  of  one  shaft  alternate 
with  those  of  the  other;  they  are  of  the  thickness  of  the  plate  to  be  cut,  and 
the  shafts  are  so  placed  that  a  email  portion  of  one  set  of  the  disks  are  in- 
serted between  those  of  the  other  set.  When  the  shafts  are  revolving  a  plate 
of  iron  is  pressed  between  the  disks,  and  it  is  forcibly  drawn  through,  the 
steel  disks  cutting  the  plates  into  strips  with  great  rapidity.  The  quantity 
produced  in  this  way  is  enormous,  some  mills  turning  out  at  the  rate  of  ten 
miles  per  hour  of  nail-rods.  Several  inventions,  in  which  America  took  the 
lead,  have  been  introduced,  and  are  successfully  worked,  for  making  nails 
direct  from  plate  iron,  either  by  cutting  them  out  cold  or  hot;  and  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  nails  in  use  are  made  in  this  way.  Nail-making  by 
machinery  was  originated  in  Massachusetts  in  1810. 

Lead  Pencils.  —A  lead  peusil  is  in  itself  a  small  affair,  but  considered 
as  a  manufactured  product,  it  rises  into  much  importance.  To  start  a  first- 
class  factory  with  improved  machinery  and  stock  of  well-seasoned  wood. 


NAIL  FORGE. 


278       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

requires  a  capital  of  about  $100,000;  the  ground  covered  is  about  half  an  acre, 
chiefly  occupied  by  drying  houses  for  the  storage  of  red  cedar.  The  Florida 
red  cedar  is  mostly  used  in  this  country  and  in  Europe — some  "  iben  "  wood, 
as  the  Germans  call  it,  or  English  yew,  is  used  in  Germany— white  pine  is 
occasionally  used  for  a  common  grade  of  a  carpenter's  pencil.  The  "  lead  " 
of  the  pencils  is  the  well-known  graphite  or  plumbago;  the  best  ol  this  is 
the  natural,  found  in  a  pure  state  in  masses  large  enough  to  cut  into  strips. 
Of  this  there  is  but  one  mine  up  to  the  standard,  which  is  in  Asiatic  Siberia. 
What  was  formally  refuse  in  cutting  the  graphite  is  now  ground,  cleaned, 
and  refined,  and  then  mixed  with  a  fine  clay.  In  mixing  the  clay  and  graph- 
ite, great  care  must  be  taken  iu  selecting  and  cleaning  the  clay  and  getting 
the  proper  proportions;  the  mixture  with  water,  after  being  well-kneaded, 
io  placed  in  a  large  receiver  and  strongly  compressed  and  forced  out  through 
a  small  groove  in  the  bottom,  in  the  shape  of  a  thread  the  thickness  and 
style  required— either  square,  octagon,  or  round.  This  thread  or  lead  wire 
is  cut  in  bars  of  proper  length  (done  by  little  girls),  and  then  straightened, 
dried  at  a  moderate  heat,  And  packed  in  air-tight  crucibles  and  placed  in 
the  furuaces;  the  grade  of  the  lead  depends  upon  the  amount  of  clay  used 
in  mixing  and  the  quality  of  the  plumbago.  The  coloring  of  the  lead  is  by 
various  pigments.  The  wood,  after  being  thoroughly  seasoned,  is  cut  into 
thin  strips  and  then  dried  again,  then  cut  into  strips  pencil  length.  These 
strips  are  grooved  by  machinery,  then  carried  on  a  belt  to  the  gluing  room, 
where  the  lead  is  placed  in  the  groove,  and  the  other  half  of  the  pencil  glued 
on.  After  being  dried  under  pressure,  they  are  sent  to  the  turning-room 
and  rounded,  squared,  or  made  octagon  by  a  very  ingenious  little  machine, 
which  passes  them  through  three  cutters  and  drops  them  ready  for  polishing 
or  coloring — the  former  is  done  on  lathes  by  boys,  and  the  latter  by  a  ma- 
chine which  holds  the  brush  and  turns  the  pencils  fed  to  it  through  a  hop' 
per.  After  the  pencil  is  polished,  it  is  cut  the  exact  length  by  c,  circular  saw,, 
and  the  end  is  cut  smooth  by  a  drop  knife,  the  pencil  resting  on  an  iron  bed. 
The  stamping  is  done  by  a  hollow  die,  which  is  heated;  the  gold  or  silver 
foil  is  then  laid  on  the  pencil,  which  reste  on  an  iron  bed,  and  the  die  is  then 
pressed  on  it  by  a  screw  lever. 

Steel  Pens. — First  the  steel  is  rolled  into  big  sheets.  This  is  cut  into 
strips  about  three  niches  wide.  These  strips  are  annealed;  that  is,  they 
are  heated  to  a  red  heat  and  permitted  to  cool  very  gradually,  so  that  the 
brittleness  is  all  removed  and  the  steel  is  soft  enough  to  be  easily  worked. 
Then  the  strips  are  again  rolled  to  the  required  thickness,  or  rather  thin- 
ness, for  the  average  steel  pen  is  not  thicker  than  a  sheet  of  thin  letter  paper. 
Next,  the  blank  pen  is  cut  out  of  the  flat  strip.  On  this  the  name  of  the 
maker  or  of  the  brand  is  stamped.  Next,  the  pen  is  molded  in  a  form 
which  combines  gracefulness  with  strength.  The  rounding  enables  the  pen 
to  hold  the  requisite  ink  and  to  distribute  it  more  gradually  than  could  be 
done  with  a  flat  blade.  The  little  hole  which  is  cut  at  the  end  of  the  slit 
serves  to  regulate  the  elasticity,  and  also  facilitates  the  running  of  the  ink. 
Then  comes  the  process  of  hardening  and  tempering.  The  steel  is  heated  to 
a  cherry-red  and  then  plunged  suddenly  into  some  cool  substance.  This  at 
once  changes  the  quality  of  the  metal  from  that  of  a  soft,  lead-like  sub- 
stance to  a  brittle,  springy  one.  Then  the  temper  of  the  steel  must  be 
drawn,  for  without  this  process  it  would  be  too  brittle.  The  drawing  con- 
sists of  heating  the  pen  until  it  reaches  a  certain  color.  The  first  color  that 
appears  is  a  straw  color.  This  changes  rapidly  to  a  blue.  The  elasticity  of 


TJSEXUL    ARTS    AND    MA  N  UFA  CTURE8 


279 


the  m«tal  varies  with  the  color,  and  is  fastened  at  any  point  by  instant  plung- 
ing in  cold  water.  The  processes  of  slitting,  polishing,  pointing  and  finish- 
ing the  pen  are  operations  requiring  dexterity,  but  by  a  long  practice  the 
workmen  and  workwomen  become  very  expert.  There  have  been  few 
changes  of  late  years,  and  the  process  of  manufacture  is  much  the  same 
that  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  prices  are  rather  uniform,  ranging 
from  seventy-five  cents  to  four  dollars  a  gross,  according  to  the  quality  of 
the  finish. 

Needles.— Needles  are  made  from  soft  steel  wire,  which  is  received 
from  the  manufactory  in  coils.  The  wire  is  cut  by  fixed  shears  into  length 
sufficient  to  make  two  needles.  Those  blanks,  being  bent,  require  straight- 
ening, which  is  done  by  placing  several  thousand  of  them  between  two  broad 
heavy  rings,  and  heating  them  to  redness  in  a  furnace.  They  are  then  re- 
moved and  placed,  still  in  posi- 
tion within  the  rings,  on  a  flat  iron 
plate,  and  by  means  of  a  curved 
bar,  termed  a  smooth  file,  rolled 
back  and  forth  until  perfectly 
straight.  Each  piece  is  then 
sharpened  at  both  ends.  The 
workman  takes  up  a  number  at  a 
time  and  holds  the  ends  against  a 
grindstone,  forming  the  points. 
By  means  of  a  die  and  counterdie, 
two  grooves  are  stamped  by  a 
press  on  each  side  of  the  wire, 
which  is  next  pierced  under  a 
press  with  two  holes  forming  the 
eyes.  A  number  of  pieces  are 
then  strung  on  two  fine  wires  and 
broken  each  in  two  by  filing  and 
bending.  The  roughness  about 
the  head  is  removed  by  filing, 
several  at  a  time  being  placed  in  MANUFACTUHE  OF  NEEDLES.— DRILLING 
a  small  vice.  During  these  pro- 
cesses the  needles,  having  become 
somewhat  bent,  are  straightened  by  rolling  on  a  flat  plate,  as  before.  They 
are  now  brought  to  a  red  heat,  and  tempered  by  plunging  them  into  oil. 
Fifty  thousand  at  a  time  are  then  put  in  a  canvas  bag  with  emery,  oil,  putty- 
powder,  and  soft-soap,  and  rolled  to  and  fro  under  pressure  until  they  be- 
come bright.  The  better  class  of  needles  have  their  eyes  drilled.  The  final 
process  is  polishing  the  points,  which  is  effected  first  by  a  rotating  hone, 
and  afterward  by  a  buff- wheel.  Of  late  years  machines  have  been  introduced 
by  which  needles  are  formed  from  the  roll  of  wire  without  the  intervention 
of  hand  labor. 

Kid  Gloves. — The  best  skins  generally  come  from  middle  and  south- 
eastern France.  Fine  seasons  improve  the  quality  of  the  skin  greatly,  a» 
the  animals  are  kept  in  the  open  air.  In  wet  weather  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
the  kids  housed.  The  pelt,  as  taken  from  the  animal,  is  dried;  then,  through 
a  series  of  baths,  the  hair  and  grease  are  removed,  and  the  skin  cleaned 
thoroughly.  A  moat  difficult  stage  of  the  business  is  tanning  and  dyeing 


THE  EYES. 


^>       -S 

the  leathers,  BO  much  skill  being  requisite  to  obtain  the  desired  shades  and 
colors.  This  is  accomplished  with  the  best  success  in  France,  as  the  French 
possess  the  art  of  leather-dyeing  to  a  degree  not  yet  attained  by  other 
nations.  In  order  afterward  to  make  the  skin  soft,  lull  and  flexible,  it  is  fed 
with — actually  absorbing  quite  a  quantity  of— a  preparation  of  eggs,  flour 
and  egg-yelks.  Subsequently  the  parts  around  the  neck  and  shoulders, 
where  the  skin  is  thickest,  are  shaved  with  a  sharp  knife  to  render  it  uni- 
form in  thickness  throughout.  The  leather  fully  prepared  is  carefully  ex- 
amined for  imperfections;  perfect  skins  are  retained,  imperfect  ones  laid 
aside.  The  cutting  of  material  for  kid  gloves  can  only  be  done  by  hand, 
each  piece  being  carefully  measured  in  order  to  allow  the  proper  stretching 
space.  The  stamping,  which  comprises  cutting  out  the  form  of  the  glove,  is 
done  by  machinery  rapidly,  as  three  pairs  are  usually  stamped  at  one  time. 
From  the  cutter  they  pass  to  the  embroiderer,  thence  to  the  sewer,  then  to 
the  button-hole  maker,  afterward  to  the  finisher,  who  binds  the  wrist,  and 
finally  to  the  person  whose  business  is  to  pair  and  press  them.  The  long 
mosquetaire  gloves  generally  consume  the  entire  skin  of  one  kil. 

Tacks. — Described  in  a  few  words,  the  process  of  making  tacks  is  as 
follows:  The  iron,  as  received  from  the  rolling  mills,  is  in  sheets  from  three 
inches  to  twelve  inches  wide  and  from  three  feet  to  nine  feet  in  length,  the 
thickness  varying,  according  to  the  kind  of  work  into  which  it  is  to  be  made, 
from  one-eighth  to  one  thirty-second  of  an  inch.  These  sheets  are  all  cut 
into  about  three-feet  pieces,  and  by  immersion  in  acid  cleaiied  of  the  hard  out- 
side flinty  scale.  They  are  then  chopped  into  strips  of  a  width  correspond- 
ing to  the  length  of  the  nail  or  tack  required.  Supposing  the  tack  to  be  cut 
is  an  eight-ounce  carpet  tack,  the  strip  of  iron,  as  chopped  and  ready  for  the 
machine,  would  be  about  eleven-sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick  and  three  feet 
long.  The  piece  is  placed  firmly  in  the  feeding  apparatus,  and  by  this  ar- 
rangement carried  between  the  knives  and  machine.  At  each  revolution  of 
the  balance-wheel  the  knives  cut  off  a  small  piece  from  the  end  of  this  plate. 
The  piece  cut  off  is  pointed  at  one  end,  and  square  for  forming  the  head  at 
the  other.  It  is  then  carried  between  two  dies  by  the  action  of  the  knives, 
and  these  dies  coming  together  form  the  body  of  the  tack  under  the  head. 
Enough  of  the  iron  projects  beyond  the  face  of  the  dies  to  form  the  head, 
and,  while  held  firmly  by  them,  a  lever  strikes  this  projecting  piece  into  a 
round  head.  This,  as  we  have  said  before,  is  all  done  during  one  revolution 
of  the  balance-wheel,  and  the  knives,  as  soon  as  the  tack  drops  from  the 
machine,  are  ready  to  cut  oflf  another  piece.  These  machines  are  run  at  the 
rate  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  revolutions  a  minute. 

Brass,  Etc. — Brass  is  a  compound  metal,  or,  as  it  is  properly  called,  am 
aUoy  of  copper  and  zinc;  it  was  well  known  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  arts, 
long  before  pure  zinc  was  discovered,  being  made  of  copper  and  calamina 
stone,  which  is  an  ore  of  zinc.  The  manufacture  of  brass  is  said  to  have 
been  introduced  into  England  in  1649  by  a  German  who  settled  at  Esher  in 
Surrey.  Good  brass  is  of  a  fine  yellow  color,  ductile  and  very  malleable 
when  cold;  when  heated  it  is  brittle,  being  hi  this  respect  a  curious  contrast 
to  the  zinc  of  which  it  is  partially  composed.  Brass  is  the  most  convenient 
metal  for  making  large  fine  screws,  astronomical  instruments,  microscopes, 
and  many  other  things  requiring  great  exactness;  as,  notwithstanding  ita 
compactness  of  texture,  it  is  easily  wrought  at  the  lathe.  Britannia  metal  is 
composed  of  block  tin,  a  small  portion  of  antimony,  and  less  than  one-third 


USEFUL    ARTS    AND    MANUFACTURES.  281 

as  much  copper  or  brass.  This  compound,  which  is  bright  and  silvery- 
looking,  is  now  extensively  used  instead  of  pewter,  and  for  many  purposes 
to  which  pewter  was  never  applied.  It  is  very  easy  to  work,  both  by  roll- 
ing, casting,  turning,  and  planing,  as  well  as  by  stamping  in  dies;  conse- 
quently, the  articles  made  of  it  are  almost  unlimited  in  variety,  and  very 
cheaply  produced;  teapots,  candlesticks,  and  spoons  are  among  some  of  the 
most  frequent  applications  of  this  metal.  Pewter  is  a  dull-looking  alloy, 
used  for  making  plates  and  dishes,  beer  measures,  and  larger  vessels.  For 
the  first  purpose  it  has  very  much  gone  out  of  use,  being  superseded  by 
earthen  ware;  but  in  former  times  all  houses  were  supplied  with  pewter  arti- 
cles, and  no  small  portion  of  the  "  plate,"  belonging  to  the  wealthy,  was  of 
this  material.  Good  hard  pewter  is  made  of  tin,  copper,  and  antimony;  but 
a  very  inferior  kind,  and  that  most  frequently  met  with,  is  made  chiefly  of 
lead,  with  a  very  small  proportion  of  tin  and  copper  in  addition. 

Sulphur Sulphur  is  a  solid  non-metallic  mineral  known  from  the 

remotest  antiquity;  it  is  hard,  yellow,  brittle,  and  has  a  disagreeable  smell. 
Sulphur  is  found  native  in  veins  or  beds  mostly  near  active  volcanoes;  it  is 
also  found  combined  with  iron,  copper,  lead,  and  antimony,  forming  the 
most  abundant  ore  of  those  metals.  Native  sulphur  is  found  massive,  pow- 
dery, or  cellular,  and  not  unfrequently  in  large  crystals,  some  of  which 
measure  four  inches  in  length.  Sulphur  abounds  in  the  mineral  kingdom, 
but  traces  of  it  are  found  in  both  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms.  The 
bad  smell  of  some  plants,  as  asafcetida  and  garlic,  is  to  be  attributed  to  the 
sulphur  they  contain;  it  exists  too  in  eggs  and  some  other  animal  products; 
thus  it  is  that  eggs  discolor  silver  spoons.  The  native  sulphur  imported 
comes  mostly  from  Solfatra  in  Sicily,  but  large  quantities  are  procured  from 
iron  and  copper  pyrites.  These  minerals  are  heated,  and  the  sulphur  being 
volatile  flies  off  in  fumes  which  are  conveyed  by  pipes  to  a  condensing 
room.  If  left  in  the  powdery  state  in  which  it  condenses  it  is  called  floiir  of 
sulphur;  but,  if  melted  and  cast  it  makes  roll  sulphur.  It  is  used  in 
bleaching,  for  making  gunpowder  and  matches;  it  is  also  used  in  medicine. 
One  of  the  combinations  of  sulphur,  sulphuric  acid,  called  in  commerce 
vitriol,  is  so  largely  used  in  the  arts  and  manufactures,  that  it  has  been  said 
the  commercial  prosperity  of  a  country  may  be  fairly  estimated  by  the 
amount  of  sulphuric  acid  it  consumes. 

Slate  Pencils. — In  making  slate  pencils  broken  slate  is  put  into  a  mor- 
tar run  by  steam  and  pounded  into  small  particles.  Then  it  goes  into  a  mill 
and  runs  into  a  "  bolting  "  machine,  such  as  is  used  in  flouring  mills,  where 
it  is  "  bolted,"  the  fine,  almost  impalpable  flour  that  results  being  taken  to 
a  mixing  tub,  where  a  small  quantity  of  steatite  flour  similarly  manufac- 
tured, is  added  together  with  other  materials,  the  whole  being  made  into  a 
stiff  dough.  This  dough  is  thoroughly  kneaded  by  passing  it  several  times 
between  iron  rollers.  Thence  it  is  conveyed  to  a  table  where  it  is  made 
into  "  charges,"  or  short  cylinders,  four  or  five  inches  thick  and  containing 
eight  to  twelve  pounds  each.  Four  of  these  are  placed  in  a  strong  iron 
chamber  or  "  retort,"  with  a  changeable  nozzle  so  as  to  regulate  the  size  of 
the  pencil,  and  subjected  to  tremendous  hydraulic  pressure  under  which  the 
composition  is  pushed  through  the  nozzle  in  the  shape  of  a  long  cord,  and 
pass  over  a  sloping  table  slit  at  right  angles  with  the  cords  to  give  passage  to 
a  knife  which  cuts  them  into  lengths.  They  are  then  laid  on  boards  to  diys 
and  after  a  few  hours  are  removed  to  sheets  ol  corrugated  zinc,  the  corru- 


282       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    trSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

gation  serving  to  prevent  the  pencil  from  warping  during  the  process  of 
baking,  to  which  they  are  next  subjected,  in  a  kiln,  into  which  superheated 
steam  is  introduced  in  pipes,  the  temperature  being  regulated  accordiug  to 
the  requirements  of  the  article  exposed  to  its  influence.  From  the  kiln,  the 
articles  go  to  the  finishing  and  packing  room,  where  the  ends  are  thrust  for 
a  second  under  rapidly  revolving  emery  wheels,  and  withdrawn  neatly  and 
smoothly  pointed.  They  are  then  packed  in  pasteboard  boxes,  each  con- 
taining one  hundred  pencils,  and  these  boxes  are  in  turn  packed  for  ship- 
ment in  wooden  boxes,  containing  one  hundred  each,  or  ten  thousand  pen- 
cils in  a  shipping  box.  Nearly  all  the  work  is  done  by  boys. 

Rubber  Boots. — The  gum  used  is  imported  directly  from  Africa,  South 
America,  and  Central  America,  that  from  Central  America  being  best,  while 
the  African  gum  is  the  poorest.  The  raw  gum,  which  is  nearly  white,  is 
ground  several  times  between  immense  fluted  iron  rollers,  after  which  it 
passes  through  the  composition  room,  which  process  is  secret,  but  when  it 
comes  out,  the  gum  has  the  black  appearance  of  common  rubber.  The 
next  process  is  that  of  passing  the  rubber  between  chilj^d  iron  cylinders, 
of  many  tons  weight,  which  are  kept  very  hot  and  very  smooth.  A  part  of 
the  rubber  intended  for  "  uppers,"  is  here  spread  upon  and  fastened  to  long 
sheets  of  cloth.  The  heels  and  taps  are  stamped  out  of  sheets  of  gum  of  the 
required  thickness.  The  rubber  is  now  carried  to  the  cutter's  room,  where 
it  is  cut  out  and  sent  to  the  bootmakers.  The  boots  are  made  by  men,  the 
shoes  or  ordinary  rubbers  by  girls,  while  the  overshoes  are  made  by  either. 
One  man  will  make  twelve  or  fourteen  pairs  of  boots  a  day,  and  receive 
1  wenty  cents  a  pair.  An  active  girl  will  make  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
pairs  of  rubbers.  After  the  bootmaker  is  through  they  are  placed  in  -an 
oven,  where  for  twelve  hours  they  are  subjected  to  a  temperature  of  three 
hundred  degrees.  They  are  then  ready  for  boxing  and  shipping.  In  one 
factory  about  four  thousand  pairs  of  boots,  rubbers,  and  overshoes  are 
turned  out  daily. 

Rubber  Balls. — The  rubber  balls  used  in  games  are  made  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:  The  sheets  of  rubber  are  cut  into  strips  of  double  convex 
shape,  or  like  the  rind  of  an  orange.  The  edges  of  the  strips  are  moistened 
with  a  liquid,  made  of  rubber  and  naptha,  by  which  they  are  joined  firmly 
together.  This  part  of  the  work  is  generally  done  by  girls,  who  soon  be- 
come skillful  workers.  When  the  strips  are  joined,  the  ball  is  about  the 
shape  of  a  Brazil  nut.  Before  the  last  opening  is  closed,  some  carbonate  of 
ammonia  is  put  inside.  This  causes  the  rubber  to  expand  and  fill  out  the 
ball  mold.  The  molds  are  iron  plates  of  the  required  shape.  The  ball  is 
placed  in  its  mold,  and  then,  being  heated,  is  pressed  round.  Sometimes 
explosions  occur  in  molding,  for  rubber  has  considerable  expansive  force. 

Thimbles.— The  manufacture  of  thimbles  is  very  simple,  but  singularly 
interesting.  Com  silver  is  mostly  used,  and  is  obtained  by  purchasing  coin 
dollars.  The  first  operation  strikes  a  novice  as  almost  wicked,  for  it  is  no- 
thing else  than  putting  a  lot  ot  bright  silver  dollars,  fresh  from  the  mint, 
into  dirty  crucibles,  and  melting  them  up  into  solid  ingots.  These  are 
rolled  out  into  the  required  thickness,  and  cut  by  a  stamp  into  circular 
pieces  of  any  required  size.  A  solid  metal  bar  of  the  size  of  the  inside  of  the 
intended  thimble,  moved  by  powerful  machinery  up  and  down  in  a  bottom- 
less mold  of  the  outside  of  the  same  thimbles,  bends  the  circular  disks  into 
the  thimble  shape  as  fast  as  they  can  be  placed  under  the  descending  bar. 


USXFUt    A&T8   AN  to    MANUFACTURER.         283 

Once  in  shape,  the  work  of  brightening,  polishing,  and  decorating  is  done 
upon  a  lathe.  First,  the  blank  form  id  fitted  with  a  rapidly  revolving  rod. 
A  slight  touch  of  a  sharp  chisel  takes  a  thin  shaving  from  the  end,  another 
does  the  same  on  the  side,  and  the  third  rounds  off  the  rim.  A  round  steel 
rod,  dipped  in  oil,  and  pressed  upon  the  surface,  gives  it  a  lustrous  polish. 
Then  a  little  revolving  steel  wheel,  whose  edge  is  a  raised  ornament,  held 
against  the  revolving  blank,  prints  that  ornament  just  outside  the  rim.  A 
second  wheel  prints  a  different  ornament  around  the  center,  while  a  third 
wheel,  with  sharp  points,  makes  the  indentations  on  the  lower  half  and  end 
of  the  thimble.  The  inside  ia  brightened  and  polished  in  a  similar  way,  the 
thimble  being  held  in  a  revolving  mold.  All  that  remains  to  be  done  is  to 
boil  the  completed  thimbles  in  soapsuds,  to  remove  the  oil,  brush  them  up, 
and  pack  them  for  the  trade. 

Crackers. — Inspecting  one  of  the  largest  bakeries  in  Now  York  City,  a 
a  visitor  found  a  praiseworthy  cleanliness  in  every  part.  On  the  second 
floor  of  the  building  there  are  five  "  reel  "  or  cylinder  ovens.  These  ovens, 
about  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  have  the  fires  at  the  bottom,  and  above  the 
fire  is  a  large  wheel  or  cylinder.  On  the  outer  frame  of  this  wheel  are  ten 
swinging  trays.  On  these  trays  the  crackers,  as  they  are  turned  out  from 
the  stamping  machine  close  by,  are  placed,  and  the  wheel  revolves  slowly, 
lowering  the  next  tray  into  position.  Thus  the  wheel  is  kept  in  constant 
motion,  the  biscuit  being  removed  from  the  trays  after  making  one  revolu- 
tion of  the  cylinder. 

In  this  bakery  the  weekly  supply  of  materials  is  six  hundred  barrels 
of  flour,  three  thousand  pounds  of  butter,  twenty  thousands  pounds  of  lard, 
eighty  barrels  of  sugar,  twenty-five  barrels  of  molasses,  fifteen  barrels  of 
currants,  together  with  eggs,  honey,  cornstarch,  and  other  necessary  in- 
gredients. 

The  mixing  of  the  dough,  the  rolling  and  the  stamping,  are  done  by  ma- 
chine. The  mixing  machine  is  on  the  second  floor  of  the  building.  One 
shoot  leading  into  this  mixer,  which  is  a  large  wooden  cylinder,  supplies  the 
proper  proportion  of  flour;  another  supplies  the  milk,  another  the  sugar,  an- 
other the  water,  etc. 

In  the  mixer  there  are  three  spoons  or  bars  revolving  alternately,  which 
thoroughly  mix  the  dough.  It  is  then  taken  to  the  floor  above,  where  a  row 
of  boxes  is  placed,  in  one  of  which  the  dough  is  put  to  "  rise."  When  ready 
for  baking,  it  is  taken  again  to  the  floor  below,  unless  it  is  to  be  used  in 
making  soft  crackers.  Here  it  is  placed  on  large  trays,  and  as  the  workmen 
knead  it  they  slice  off  large  pieces  of  the  dough  and  place  it  in  a  rolling  ma- 
chine. It  is  rolled  four  or  five  times  until  it  becomes  of  the  proper  thick- 
ness, and  it  is  then  placed  on  the  cracker-making  machine.  Before  reaching 
the  die  it  is  passed  beneath  another  roller,  and  at  either  side  of  the  tray  on 
which  it  is  placed  are  knives,  which  trim  it  to  the  proper  shape.  From  the 
roller  the  sheet  of  dough  runs  under  the  die,  which  cuts  out  the  crackers, 
and  at  the  same  time  stamps  the  name  or  other  device  and  makes  the  "  pin- 
holes." 

In  stamping  square  crackers,  such  as  soda-biscuits,  there  is  but  little 
waste;  but  in  cutting  out  other  shapes  fully  one-half  of  the  dough  is  not 
used.  The  finished  shapes  and  waste  material  are  passed  upon  a  cloth 
roller,  an  iron  bar  with  a  toothed  edge  being  so  set,  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  die,  that,  as  they  pass  upon  another  cloth  band,  the  cracker* 
are  pushed  down  upon  the  original  roller,  being  thence  carried  to 


284      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  end  of  the  machine,  where  they  fell  upon  the  trays,  which,  as  soon  as 
they  are  full,  are  put  upon  the  swinging  shelves  in  the  "  reel "  oven.  The 
"  trimmings  "  are  taken  up  and  again  passed  through  the  machine.  This 
same  plan  is  pursued  in  making  all  hard  crackers,  the  quantity  and  kinds 
of  ingredients,  together  with  the  flavoring  used,  varying  according  to  the 
special  variety  to  be  made  from  the  dough. 

On  the  third  floor  the  soft  crackers,  such  as  macaroons,  lady  fingers, 
butter-scotch,  honey  cake,  etc.,  are  made.  Four  mixers  for  the  dough  of 
which  these  are  made  are  placed  on  this  floor.  These  goods  are  baked  in 
square  ovens. 

Some  of  the  finer  varieties  of  crackers  are  made  by  hand,  but  others, 
even  of  these,  are  made  by  ingeniously  contrived  machines.  The  visitor 
stood  by  and  saw  the  method  of  making  "  cocoanut  drop  cake."  A  tray 
placed  in  a  machine  moved  under  an  upright  receptacle  filled  with  the  soft 
dough  forming  the  body  of  the  cake.  "This  was  fed  through  five  or  six  holes, 
slowly  dropping  upon  the  pan.  Another  man  then  took  the  pan,  and,  turn- 
ing it  upside  down,  pressed  the  soft  cakes  upon  a  surface  of  desiccated 
cocoanut  spread  on  a  sheet  resting  upon  water  in  a  tank.  The  cakes  were 
then  placed  in  one  of  the  square  ovens,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  the 
visitor  had  positive  knowledge  that  a  cocoanut  drop  cake  is  a  delicious 
morsel. 

The  fruit  for  fruit-crackers,  the  visitor  was  assured,  is  the  best  quality 
of  dried  currants.  They  are  washed  and  dried,  and  are  then  carefully 
picked  over  by  boys,  and  all  imperfections  removed.  To  make  fruit- 
crackers,  the  process  is  much  the  same  as  with  other  hard  crackers.  One  of 
the  newest  and  most  peculiar  designs  is  the  "  charcoal "  cracker,  in  which  a 
small  proportion  of  charcoal  is  mixed  with  dough.  This  variety  is  in  de- 
mand by  dyspeptics,  as  are  also  oatmeal  and  graham  crackers. 

Sardines.— These  little  finny  creatures  are  caught  in  nets,  and  after 
being  well  washed  the  heads  are  cut  off  and  the  fish  are  sprinkled  lightly 
with  fine  salt.  After  lying  for  a  few  hours  they  are  placed  on  girds  in  rows 
almost  perpendicular.  The  frames  are  then  placed  in  pans  containing  boil- 
ing olive  oil.  This  oil  is  changed  as  often  as  it  becomes  too  black  and  dirty 
for  continuing  the  cooking  process.  As  soon  as  the  fish  are  considered 
sufficiently  cooked  they  are  withdrawn  from  the  pans  of  oil,  and  the  girds 
are  placed  on  tables  covered  with  zinc,  the  surface  of  the  tables  inclining 
toward  a  groove  in  the  center.  The  oil  is  thus  carried  to  a  vessel  prepared 
to  receive  it.  Around  these  tables  stand  the  women  whose  business  it  is  to 
pack  the  fish  closely  and  uniformly  in  boxes.  The  boxes  being  full,  the  fish 
are  covered  with  fresh  oil,  and  the  lids  of  the  boxes  are  then  soldered  down. 
Thus  hermetically  sealed  they  are  placed  in  a  wire  basket  and  immersed  in 
boiling  water.  The  smaller  boxes  are  thus  boiled  for  about  an  hour,  and 
the  larger  ones  somewhat  longer,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  box.  The 
fish  are  then  ready  for  the  market,  and  being  packed  in  cases,  are  sent  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Shoe  Pegs — The  timber  used  in  the  manufacture  of  shoe  pegs  is  black 
and  yellow  birch,  which  is  cut  into  pieces  four  feet  ia  length,  varying  in 
diameter  from  eight  to  fourteen  inches,  and  again  cut  into  slices  or  blanks 
of  the  thickness  desired  for  the  length  of  the  pegs.  These  are  sorted  and 
the  knots  cut  cut,  and  are  then  passed  on  to  a  long  bench  containing  ma- 
chines composed  of  fluted  rollers.  The  blanks  are  then  run  between  these 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES.  285 

rollers,  which  crease  on  both  sides.  They  are  then  run  through  again  to 
cross  crease,  or  mark  out  the  exact  sizes  of  the  pegs.  They  then  go  to  the 
splitting  machines,  which  are  set  with  double  knives,  and  cut  the  blanks 
into  pegs.  As  they  pass  the  last  machine  they  are  sorted,  and  all  knots  and 
discolored  ones  removed  as  they  are  brushed  off  into  large  baskets.  The 
next  process  is  bleaching,  which  is  accomplished  by  the  fumes  of  brimstone. 
They  are  then  placed  hi  large  cylinders,  which  hold  eleven  barrels,  and 
have  six  hundred  steam  pipes  running  through  them,  and  revolve  one  and 
one-half  times  to  the  minute,  drying  two  charges  per  day  to  each  cylinder. 
They  are  then  passed  into  large  wooden  casks,  or  cylinders,  which,  re- 
volving rapidly,  polish  them  by  the  friction,  the  refuse  falling  through  wire 
sieves  or  screen  openings,  after  which  they  are  again  passed  into  a  sifter, 
which  separates  all  the  single  pegs  and  drops  them  into  tubs  or  boxes, 
leaving  those  which  have  not  been  separated  in  the  machine.  They  are 
then  put  m  barrels  ready  for  market. 

Cashmere  Shawls — The  greater  part  of  the  wool  for  these  exquisite 
fabrics,  and  we  refer  to  the  true  cashmere  shawls,  is  supplied  not  only  from 
the  Cashmere  Valley,  but  from  Thibet  and  Tartary — the  cashmere  goat 
being  distributed  over  certain  portions  of  Central  Asia.  It  is  only  the  sum- 
mer wool  that  is  used,  and  this  is  bleached  by  a  preparation  of  rice  flour. 
On  plain  shawls,  the  weaving  is  effected  by  a  long,  heavy  and  narrow 
shuttle,  but  thie  is  superseded  by  wooden  needles  when  the  more  ordinary 
variegated  shawls  are  to  be  made.  For  each  colored  thread,  a  different 
needle  is  used.  So  slow  is  the  process  when  the  design  is  elaborate,  that 
the  completion  of  a  square  inch  will  occupy  three  persons  for  a  day,  and  a 
shawl  of  remarkable  beauty  would  take  this  number  a  year  for  its  execution; 
but  a  number  are  engaged  on  the  same  shawl,  according  to  the  speed 
required.  Singularly  enough,  it  is  only  the  inner  side  of  the  shawl  that  is 
exposed  to  the  view  of  the  workman,  he  being  guided  by  the  design  placed 
before  him  and  the  directions  of  a  skilled  supervisor  of  the  work.  The 
thread  is  previously  spun  and  dyed  by  women.  The  shawl  worked  with  the 
needle  is,  however,  far  inferior  to  that  in  which  the  pattern  is  woven  in. 
Sulphur  fumes  are  employed  to  give  the  shawls  the  beautiful  yellow  color 
so  much  in  request  in  the  East. 

Sealskin  Sacques. — Few  of  those  wearing  a  sealskin  sacque  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  process  by  which  the  skins  are  prepared  for  use.  Seen 
when  first  taken  from  the  animal  they  little  resemble  the  warm,  glossy  skins 
worn  upon  our  streets,  for  until  dyed  and  cured  they  are  of  a  light  brown 
hue,  coarse  and  full  of  sand.  Before  becoming  valuable  they  are  shaved 
down  on  the  flesh  side  until  not  thicker  than  paper,  the  long  hairs  are  pulled 
out  and  the  fur  dyed.  The  cost  of  the  article  is  due  to  the  labor  expended 
upon  it.  The  raw  skins  are  sold  in  London,  where  the  finishing  is  done,  and 
then  shipped  back  to  America,  where  they  are  sold  with  a  heavy  duty 
added.  The  killing  season  in  Alaska  begins  about  the  12th  of  June,  and 
the  one  hundred  thousand  skins  are  usually  ready  for  shipment  a  month 
later.  The  work  of  slaughtering  the  animals  is  done  by  natives  who  live 
upon  the  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  Islands,  and  the  process  is  an  interesting 
one.  When  skins  are  wanted,  the  natives  go  to  the  rockeries,  station  them- 
selves along  the  shore,  between  the  seals  and  the  water,  and,  at  a  givo. 
signal,  spring  to  their  feet  and  make  as  much  noise  as  possible.  The 
frightened  victims,  timid  as  deer,  then  stampede  up  the  beach,  and  are 


286        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

driven  like  sheep  a  few  miles  inland  until  their  captors  'attack  them  with 
hickory  clubs.  Being  knocked  senseless,  they  are  stabbed  with  long  sharp 
knives,  and  the  skins  are  quickly  stripped  from  the  bodies. 

Matches. — Large  planks  are  cut  up  into  blocks,  double  the  length  of 
the  match,  and  put  one  at  a  time  upon  the  cutting  machine.  Two  large 
knives,  converging  at  the  points,  are  driven  back  and  forth  upon  the  block, 
and  numerous  little  clamps  beneath,  wide  enough  apart  to  pass  one  match 
between,  are  pressed  up,  each  taking  off  a  match  at  every  passage  of  the 
knives,  at  the  rate  of  sixty  a  minute.  The  particles  are  packed  in  square 
frames  and  placed  in  a  kiln  dryer,  over  the  furnace,  where  they  remain 
twenty-four  hours.  They  are  taken  out,  and  by  means  of  curious  machines 
are  coiled  upon  an  ordinary  cotton  band.  On  each  coil  there  is  a  gross,  or 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  matches,  and  the  band  is  between  each  layer. 
A  curious  arrangement  of  the  machine  is,  that  it  will  coil  nothing  but  a  per- 
fect match,  and  throws  the  defective  ones  aside.  The  coiling  is  slow,  and 
and  one  man  can  tend  five  machines,  which  will  ordinarily  coil  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  gross  per  day.  After  the  coil  is  made  up,  the  ends  are 
planed  down  «ven  and  put  upon  a  hot  iron,  which  opens  the  pores  of  the 
wood.  Both  ends  are  then  dipped  into  melted  brimstone,  into  a  composition 
of  phosphorus,  glue  and  other  materials,  and  hung  upon  racks  for  ten  min- 
utes, at  the  end  of  which  they  are  dry.  The  coils  are  then  unrolled,  the 
matches  put  in  the  square  frame,  cut  in  two  in  the  middle,  boxed  and 
packed  ready  for  shipment.  The  boxing  is  mostly  done  by  boys  and  girls. 

Mirrors. — Looking-glasses  used  to  be  made  by  covering  the  plate  with 
an  amalgam  of  tin  and  mercury;  but  this  has  been  superseded  by  deposit- 
ing a  coat  of  real  silver  upon  the  glass,  thrown  down  in  a  smooth  film  by 
adding  oil  of  cloves  or  other  organic  substances  to  a  solution  of  ammonia- 
nitrate  of  silver,  retained  upon  the  plate  by  a  raised  rim  of  wax.  The  trouble 
with  the  process  has  been  that,  though  cheaper,  the  plates  are  inferior  in 
luster,  and  lack  the  "  black  "  color  which  silversmiths  regard  as  indicating 
perfection  of  polish.  The  long-looked-for  process  of  imparting  the  brilliancy 
of  the  mercurial  coating  to  the  cheap  and  durable  film  has  at  last  been  ac- 
complished by  chemical  reaction.  After  the  silver  plating  is  complete  the 
film  is  flooded  with  a  weak,  aqueous  solution  of  the  double  cyanide  of  mer- 
cury and  potassium;  slow  decomposition  takes  place,  and  the  mercury  is 
precipitated,  which  immediately  amalgamates  with  the  silver  film.  The  re- 
sult is  said  to  be  thoroughly  satisfactory,  the  amalgam  of  silver  being  quite 
as  brilliant  as  that  of  tin,  and  less  subject  to  change,  while  the  new  process 
has  the  advantage  of  being  readily  applicable  to  the  largest  plates,  which  by 
the  old  method  could  be  treated  only  with  great  difficulty,  if  at  all. 

Combs. — One  of  the  greatest  comb  manufactories  in  the  world  is  in 
Aberdeen,  Scotland.  In  this  establishment  there  are  an  immense  number 
of  furnaces  for  preparing  horns  and  tortoise  shells  for  the  combs,  and  be- 
tween one  and  two  hundred  iron  screw-presses  are  constantly  employed  in 
stamping  them.  Steam  power  is  employed  to  cut  the  combs,  the  operation 
being  performed  by  this  means  with  great  efficiency.  The  coarse  combs  are 
stamped  or  cut  out,  two  being  cut  in  a  place  at  one  time  by  ingenious  machin- 
ery. The  fine  dressing-combs  and  all  small-tooth  combs  are  cut  by  fine  circu- 
lar saws,  some  eo  fine  as  to  cut  forty  teeth  in  the  space  of  one  inch,  and  they 
revolve  thousands  of  times  in  a  minute.  There  are  about  two  thousand 
varieties  of  combs  made,  and  the  aggregate  number  produced,  of  all  these 


USEFUL    ART8    AND    MANUFACTURES.          287 

different  eortB  of  combs,  is  about  nine  millions  annually.  The  annual  con- 
sumption of  ox-horns,  hoofs,  tortoise  shell  and  buffalo  horn  is,  of  course, 
prodigious;  even  the  waste,  consisting  of  horn  shavings  and  partings  of 
hoofs,  amounts  to  hundreds  of  tons  in  a  year,  and  this  becomes  a  valuable 
material  in  the  manufacture  of  prussiate  of  potash,  etc. 

Soda. — Soda  is  an  alkali  which  was  formerly  obtained  in  large  quanti- 
ties from  the  ashes  of  kali  and  various  other  marine  plants  growing  on  the 
shore  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  to  which  ashes  the  name  of  barilla  is 
given;  a  more  impure  soda  was  obtained  from  kelp,  which  ia  the  a«h«s  of 
different  sea- weeds  found  on  the  coasts  of  Ireland  and  Scotland;  a  large 
trade  was  formerly  carried  on  in  these  articles,  but  it  is  now  found  cheaper 
to  make  soda  by  the  decomposition  of  salt.  The  salt  is  put  into  a  furnace, 
and  sulphuric  acid  poured  upon  it;  the  heat  first  melts  it,  and  then  roasts 
it  into  sulphate  of  soda,  or  salt-cake,  as  it  is  called;  this  is  afterward  put  into 
another  furnace  with  an  equal  weight  of  carbonate  of  lime,  either  in  the 
form  of  limestone  or  chalk,  and  half  its  weight  of  small  coal;  the  whole  is 
subjected  to  intense  heat,  during  which  many  chemical  changes  take  place. 
The  mass,  when  finally  raked  out  to  cool,  consists  of  black  ash  and  ball 
soda,  or  British  barilla;  it  is  afterward  separated  front  insoluble  impurities 
by  being  dissolved  in  warm  water;  and,  after  being  further  purified  in  the 
furnace,  becomes  the  soda  of  commerce,  which  is  in  fact  carbonate  of  soda- 
Isinglass. — One  of  the  most  notable  industries  of  Eussia  depends  upon 
the  sturgeon,  the  swim-bladder  of  which  is  manufactured  into  isinglass. 
The  bladder  is  first  placed  in  water,  and  left  there  for  some  days,  with  fre- 
quent changes  of  the  water,  and  removal  of  all  fatty  and  bloody  particles, 
the  warmer  the  water  the  more  rapid  being  the  operation.  The  bladders, 
on  being  removed,  are  cut  longitudinally  into  sheets,  which  are  exposed  to 
the  sun  and  air,  being  laid  out  to  dry,  with  the  outer  face  turned  down,  upon 
boards  of  lime-tree  wood.  The  inner  face  is  pure  isinglass,  which,  when 
dried,  can  be  removed  from  the  external  lamellae.  The  inner  sheets  thus 
obtained  are  placed  between  cloths  to  keep  them  from  flies,  and  are  then 
subjected  to  a  heavy  pressure,  so  as  to  flatten  them  out  and  render  them 
uniform;  and  after  this  they  are  assorted  and  tied  in  packets.  The  packets 
composed  of  the  isinglass  of  the  large  sturgeon  usually  contain  from  ten  to 
fifteen  sheets,  and  weigh  a  pound  and  a  quarter;  and  those  of  others  con- 
tain twenty-five  sheets,  weighing  a  potind.  Eighty  of  these  packages  are 
usually  sowed  up  in  a  cloth  bag  or  enclosed  in  sheet  lead. 

Marbles. — The  chief  place  of  the  manufacture  of  marbles — those  little 
pieces  of  stone  which  contribute  so  largely  to  the  enjoyment  of  boys — is  at 
Oberstein,  on  the  Nahe,  in  Germany,  where  there  are  large  agate  mills  and 
quarries,  the  refuse  of  which  is  turned  to  good  paving  account  by  being 
made  into  small  balls,  employed  by  experts  to  knuckle  with,  and  are  mostly 
sent  to  the  American  market.  The  substance  used  in  Saxony  is  a  hard,  cal- 
careovis  stone,  which  is  first  broken  into  blocks,  nearly  square,  by  blows 
with  a  hammer.  These  are  thrown  by  the  hundred  or  two  into  a  small  sort 
of  mill,  which  is  formed  of  a  flat,  stationary  slab  of  stone,  with  a  number  oil 
eccentric  furrows  upon  its  face.  A  block  of  oak  or  other  hard  wood 
of  the  diametric  size,  is  placed  over  the  stones  and  partly  resting 
upon  them.  The  small  block  of  wood  is  kept  revolving  while  water  flows 
upon  the  stone  slab.  In  about  fifteen  minutes  the  stones  are  turned  into 
spheres,  and  then,  being  fit  for  gale,  are  henceforth  called  marbles. 


288       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

One  establishment  with  but  three  mills,  turns  out  sixty  thousand  marbles 
each  week. 

Lace. — Lace  is  a  species  of  net-work  made  of  silk,  thread,  or  cotton, 
upon  which,  in  old  times,  patterns  were  embroidered  by  the  needle  after  its 
construction.  They  are  now,  for  the  most  part,  formed  during  the  knitting 
itself.  The  best  laces  are  made  at  Mechlin,  Brussels,  Antwerp,  Ghent,  and 
Valenciennes.  Point  lace  is  that  embroidered  by  the  needle  and,  from 
the  great  labor  required,  is  the  most  expensive.  In  lace  knit  by  hand  as 
many  threads  are  employed  as  the  pattern  and  breadth  require.  These  are 
wound  upon  the  necessary  number  of  bobbins  made  of  bone  (whence  the 
name  bone-lace),  which  are  thrown  over  and  under  each  other  in  various 
ways,  so  that  the  threads  twine  around  phis  stuck  in  the  holes  of  the  pattern 
(a  stiff  parchment  stretched  on  a  pillow),  and  by  these  means  produce  the 
openings  which  give  the  desired-figure.  In  that  made  by  machinery,  the 
meshes  are  all  formed  by  a  continuation  of  a  single  thread. 

Amber. — The  following  facts  in  regard  to  this  substance  will  interest 
curious  readers:  Amber  is  the  fossil  resin  produced  by  upward  of  six  kinds 
of  coniferous  trees  in  prehistoric  times.  Two  of  these  trees,  of  which  im- 
mense forests  covered  the  regions  now  producing  amber,  have  been  proved 
to  be  nearly  related  to  the  existing  Weymouth  pine  and  the  modern  fir-tree. 
While  the  wood  of  the  trees  rotted  away,  the  resin  oozed  out  of  the  stem  of 
the  tree  as  well  as  out  of  the  roots,  and  was  deposited  eventually  in  immense 
quantities  in  the  soil.  In  some  of  the  pieces  of  the  amber,  bits  of  the  wood 
and  bark  of  the  trees  are  found  imbedded,  and  through  this  lucky  accident 
have  been  preserved  from  decay.  On  examining  this  wood  with  the  micro- 
scope, it  is  at  once  apparent  that  the  trees  were  as  intimated  above,  closely 
related  to  our  modern  coniferae,  but  were  not  absolutely  identical  with  any 
of  the  existing  species.  Ages  ago,  the  whole  region  now  covered  by  the 
eastern  part  of  the  Baltic  Sea  was  covered  by  these  amber-producing  trees. 
The  largest  European  amber  deposits  are  found  on  the  Baltic  shores  of 
Northeastern  Prussia.  There,  about  eighty  tons  a  year  are  at  present  dug 
up,  and  I'-.e  supply  appears  practically  inexhaustible. 

Celluloid. — Celluloid  is  a  composition  of  fine  tissue  paper  and  camphor, 
treated  with  chemicals  by  a  patented  process.  A  rather  common  impression 
that  it  contains  gun-cotton  is  a  mistake,  which  arises  from  confounding  it 
•with  collodion.  Celluloid,  it  is  said,  is  entirely  non-explosive,  and  burns 
only  when  in  direct  contact  with  flame.  When  crude  it  looks  like  trans- 
parent gum,  and  its  color  is  a  light  yellow-brown.  It  can  be  made  as  bar; 
as  ivory,  but  is  always  elastic,  and  can  be  molded  into  any  conceivable  form. 
With  equal  ease  it  can  be  colored  in  any  tint  desired,  the  dye  running 
through  the  entire  substance,  and  being  therefore  ineffaceable,  "it  can  also 
be  mottled  to  imitate  the  finest  tortoise-shell.  It  is  largely  used  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  combs,  hair  brushes,  hand  mirrors,  jewelry,  knife  handles,  col- 
lars, cufls,  and  many  other  articles. 

Clothes  Fins.  —  Insignificant  as  the  common  wooden  clothes  pin  is  in 
itself,  its  manufacture  forms  no  mean  part  in  American  industries,  and  the 
numerous  factories  in  the  New  England  and  other  States  furnish  employ- 
ment to  thousands  of  persons.  Beech,  white  birch,  and  poplar  are  the 
woods  used  in  making  the  article,  the  birch  and  poplar  being  considered  the 
best.  The  machinery  employed  is  very  simple.  The  wood  is  first  sawed  in 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES.          289 

logs  four  feet  in  length  and  then  cut  into  small  square  sticks  by  means  of  a 
cutting  machine.  Each  stick,  after  being  rounded  in  a  lathe,  is  passed  into 
another  machine,  which  throws  out  a  number  of  perfectly  formed  pins  at 
one  cut  and  with  great  rapidity.  The  pins  are  then  thrown  into  a  large  re- 
volving cylinder  and  smoothed  by  friction  with  each  other. 

Screws. — The  process  of  making  a  screw  is  very  interesting.  The 
rough,  large  wire  in  big  coila  is,  by  drawing  through  a  hole  smaller  than 
itaelf,  made  the  size  needed.  Then  it  goes  into  a  machine  that  at  one  mo- 
ment cuts  it  a  proper  length,  and  makes  a  head  on  it.  Then  it  is  put  into 
sawdust  and  "rattled,"  and  thus  brightened.  Then  the  head  is  shaved 
down  smoothly  to  the  proper  size  and  the  nick  put  in  at  the  same  time. 
Alter  "  rattling  "  again  in  sawdust  the  thread  is  cut  by  another  machine, 
and  after  another  "  rattling,"  and  thorough  drying,  the  screws  are  assorted 
by  hand  (the  fingers  of  those  who  do  this  move  almost  literally  like  light- 
ning), grossed  by  weight,  and  packed  for  shipping.  That  which  renders  it 
possible  for  machines  to  do  all  this  is  a  little  thing  that  resembles  and  opens 
and  shuts  like  a  goose's  bill,  which  picks  up  a  single  screw  at  a  time,  carries 
it  where  needed,  holds  it  until  grasped  by  something  else,  and  returns  for 
another. 

Whalebone. — Whalebone  represents  an  enormous  development  ol  the 
gum  of  the  whale,  and  exists  in  the  living  animal  in  the  form  of  two  rows  of 
plates,  which,  like  a  great  double  fringe,  hang  or  depend  from  its  palate. 
From  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  of  these  plates  exist  in  the 
mouth  of  a  whale,  and  the  largest  plates  may  measure  from  eight  to  ten  or 
twelve  feet  in  length.  The  inner  edges  of  these  whalebone  plates  exhibit  a 
fringed  or  frayed-out  appearance,  and  the  whole  apparatus  is  adapted  to 
serve  as  a  kind  of  gigantic  sieve  or  strainer.  Thus,  when  the  whale  fills  the 
mouth  with  water,  large  numbers  of  small  or  minute  animals,  allied  to 
jelly-fishes  aud  the  like,  are  engulfed  and  drawn  into  the  capacious  mouth 
cavity.  The  water  is  allowed  to  escape  by  the  sides  of  the  mouth,  but  its 
solid  animal  contents  are  strained  and  entangled  by  the  whalebone  fringes, 
and  when  a  sufficient  quantity  of  food  has  been  captured  in  this  way,  the 
morsel  is  duly  swallowed. 

Spools. — The  birch  from  which  spools  are  made  is  first  sawed  into  SUCKS 
four  or  five  feet  long  and  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  to  three  inches  square, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  spool  to  be  produced.  These  sticks  are  thor- 
oughly seasoned.  They  are  sawed  into  short  blocks,  and  the  bloqks  are 
dried  in  a  hot-air  kiln.  At  the  time  they  are  sawed  a  hole  is  bored  through 
them.  One  whirl  of  the  little  block  against  sharp  knifes,  shaped  by  a  pat- 
tern, makes  the  spool  at  the  rate  of  one  per  second.  A  small  boy  feeds  the 
spool  machine,  simply  placing  the  blocks  in  a  spout  and  throwing  out  the 
knotty  or  defective  stock.  The  machine  is  automatic,  but  cannot  do  the 
sorting.  The  spools  are  revolved  rapidly  in  drums  and  polish  themselves. 
For  some  purposes  they  are  dyed  yellow,  red,  or  black.  They  are  made 
into  thousands  of  shapes  and  sizes.  One  factory  turns  out  one  hundred  thou- 
sand gross  a  day,  and  consumes  two  thousand  five  hundred  cords  of  birch 
wood  annually. 

Fins. — A  snappish,  voracious  little  dwarf  of  a  machine  pulls  in  the  wire*, 
bites  it  off  by  inches  incessantly,  one  hundred  and  forty  bites  a  minute,  and 
just  as  it  seizes  each  bite  a  saucy  little  hammer,  with  a  concave  face,  hits 


290       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  end  of  the  wire  three  taps,  and  "  upsets  "  it  to  a  head,  while  he  grips  ii 
in  &  countersunk  hole  between  his  teeth,  and  lays  it  sideways  in  a  groove, 
where  levers  and  springs,  playing  like  lightning,  point  the  pins,  and  whence 
they  are  dropped  into  a  box.  The  pins  are  then  polished,  and  two  very  in- 
telligent machines  reject  every  crooked  pin.  Another  automaton  assorts 
half  a  dozen  lengths,  and  a  perfect  genius  of  a  machine  hangs  the  phis  by 
the  heads  and  transfers  them  to  slips  of  paper,  and  by  one  movement  sticks 
them  all  through  two  corrugated  ridges  in  the  paper,  when  the  work  is 
dnished.  The  pin  machine  is  one  of  the  nearest  approaches  to  the  dexterity 
of  the  human  hand  that  has  been  invented.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a  sewing 
machine,  which  it  closely  resembles. 

Musk. — Muak,  a  strong  odor  procured  from  the  musk-deer,  ia  very 
largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  bouquets.  It  is  one  of  the  most  powerful 
perfumes  known,  and  articles  onrwhich  it  is  used  retain  their  odor  for  years. 
One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  this  is  illustrated  in  the  Mosque  of  St. 
Sophia,  in  Constantinople,  the  mortar  used  in  the  building  of  which  was  im- 
pregnated with  this  substance;  and  although  centuries  have  elapsed  since  the 
building  was  erected,  the  scent  of  the  musk  is  yet  plainly  discernible.  The 
best  musk  comes  from  Tonquin  and  Thibet,  but  the  deer  is  found  through- 
out the  whole  length  of  the  Himalayan  chain.  The  scent  is  found  beneath 
the  skin,  and  near  the  navel  of  the  animal,  which  is  not  bigger  than  a  gray- 
hound,  and  is  often  caught  in  snares,  though  it  is  generally  hunted  as  we  do 
hares. 

Shot. — A  shot  tower  is  an  immense  brick  structure,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high,  resembling  a  lighthouse  more  than  anything  else.  Visitors 
are  conducted  up  a  spiral  staircase  inside  to  the  top,  where  a  fine  view  is 
obtained  for  miles  about,  but  the  view  down  the  inside  is  not  so  pleasant. 
The  opening  where  the  shot  descends  becomes  narrower  and  narrower, 
until  nothing  is  seen  at  the  bottom  but  darkness.  At  the  top  of  the  tower 
are  the  furnaces  for  smelting.  From  these  lead  is  poured  into  pans  set  in 
the  tower,  with  perforated  sheet-iron  bottoms.  The  melted  lead  comes 
through  these  holes  and  enlarges  on  the  other  side,  formed  into  globules 
before  it  falls  down  to  the  well  beneath  holding  several  feet  of  water.  The 
large  shot  drop  the  whole  height  of  the  tower  to  the  bottom,  but  the  smaller 
•izes  only  about  half  as  far.  One  peculiar  thing  is  that  smaller  shot  gen- 
erally expand  in  falling,  and  the  larger  sizes  contract. 

Gum  Arabic. — After  the  rainy  season  in  Morocco,  a  gummy  juice  ex- 
udes spontaneously  from  the  trunk  and  branches  of  the  acacia.  It  gradu- 
ally thickens  in  the  furrow  down  which  it  runs,  and  assumes  the  form  of 
oval  and  round  drops,  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  of  different  colors, 
as  it  comes  down  from  the  red  or  white  gum  tree.  About  the  middle  of  De- 
cember the  Moors  encamp  on  the  borders  of  the  forest,  and  the  harvest 
lasts  a  full  month.  The  gum  is  packed  in  large  leather  sacks,  and  trans- 
ported on  the  backs  of  camels  and  bullocks  to  seaports  for  shipment.  The 
harvest  occasion  is  one  of  great  rejoicing,  and  the  people,  for  the  time  being, 
almost  live  on  the  gum,  which  is  nutritious  and  fattening. 

Putty. — The  best  putty  is  made  of  raw  linseed  oil  and  whiting,  tha 
latter  being  simply  chalk,  ground  in  a  mill  like  flour.  It  comes  out  with  a 
flue  flint  grit  in  it.  Before  making  putty  out  of  it  a  few  old-fashioned  men, 
who  believe  in  making  the  best  of  everything,  wash  the  grit  out.  The  fuw 


USEFUL    ARTS   AND    MANUFACTURES.          291 

flour  is  then  dried.  If  it  is  not  dried  perfectly  it  takes  up  more  oil  than  is 
desirable  or  profitable.  From  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  pounds— about 
fifteen  per  cent,  by  weight  of  raw  oil  to  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  whiting — are 
put  in  a  chaser  and  thoroughly  mixed.  The  chaser  is  a  circular  trough,  ten 
feet  in  diameter.  From  a  vertical  shaft  in  the  center  two  arms  extend,  on 
the  ends  of  which  are  heavy  iron  wheels  that  rest  in  the  trough.  When  the 
shaft  revolves  the  wheels  chase  each  other  around  the  trough.  When 
mixed  it  is  packed  in  bladders  for  convenience  in  handling. 

Buttons — In  making  metal  buttons,  circular  disks,  called  "  blanks," 
are  first  cut  out  of  sheet  brass  or  other  metal  by  means  of  fly-presses,  usu- 
ally worked  by  girls.  The  fly-press  consists  of  a  vertical  iron  screw  with  a 
triple  thread,  to  which  screw  is  attached  a  horizontal  arm,  bending  down- 
wards at  the  end  to  form  a  handle.  A  punch  attached  to  the  press  rises  and 
falls  with  the  motion  of  this  handle,  and  rapidly  cuts  out  the  blanks.  When 
large  quantities  of  one  pattern  are  required,  a  self-feeding,  self-acting  ma- 
chine is  used,  which  cuts  out  the  blanks  in  rows  at  one  blow,  turning  them 
out  at  the  rate  of  two  thousand  gross  per  day.  After  being  annealed,  the 
blanks  are  next  made  convex  by  a  blow  from  a  etamp.  The  shanks  are 
formed  of  wire  by  a  separate  machine,  which  cuts  off  pieces,  and  bends  them 
into  loops  of  the  required  form.  When  these  are  soldered  on,  the  buttons 
are  dressed  on  a  lathe.  They  are  then  gilded  and  burnished;  some,  how- 
ever, are  only  lacquered;  and  some,  though  gilt,  are  finished  in  a  dead  or 
frosted  style.  Buttons  with  holes,  technically  called  "  four-holes,"  "  three- 
holes,"  and  "two-holes,"  when  of  pearl  shell,  wood,  bone,  or  ivory,  are  cut 
with  a  tubular  saw,  turned  separately  in  a  lathe,  and  drilled.  When  of 
metal,  the  blaukd  are  punched,  then  stamped  in  dies  to  the  required  form; 
the  holes  are  punched,  and  "  rymered  "  to  round  the  sharp  edges  that  would 
otherwise  cut  the  thread.  Glass  buttons  are  most  largely  made  by  taking 
a  rod  of  glass  of  any  color,  softening  the  end  by  heat,  and  pressing  it  into  a 
mold,  each  half  of  which  is  fixed  to  one  limb  of  a  pair  of  pincers.  The  shank 
is  placed  into  a  hole  in  the  mold  before  the  melted  glass  is  inserted. 

Chewing  Gum — Forty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  chewing  gum  is 
gathered  in  the  State  of  Maine  every  year.  The  gum  is  found  chiefly  in  the 
region  about  Umbagog  Lake  and  about  the  Eangely  lakes.  A  number  ol 
men  do  nothing  else  in  the  winter  season  except  collect  gum.  With  snow- 
shoes,  ax,  and  a  sheboygan,  on  which  is  packed  the  gum,  they  spend  days 
and  nights  in  the  woods.  The  clear,  pure  lumps  of  gum  are  sold  in  their 
native  state,  the  best  bringing  one  dollar  per  pound.  Gum  not  immediately 
merchantable  is  refined  by  a  peculiar  process.  Sieve-like  boxes  are  covered 
with  spruce  boughs,  on  which  is  placed  the  gum.  Steam  is  introduced 
underneath.  The  gum,  as  melted,  is  strained  by  the  boughs,  and  then 
passes  into  warm  water,  where  it  is  kept  from  hardening  until  the  packer 
takes  it  out,  draws  it  into  sticks,  and  wraps  it  in  tissue  paper,  when  it  is 
ready  for  market. 


TKEES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


Tea.—  Tea  is  composed  of  the  loaves  of  a  shrub  grown  chiefly  in  China, 
and  Japan,  of  which  countries  it  is  a  native.  It  is  an  evergreen,  grows  to 
the  height  of  from  four  to  six  feet,  and  bears  pretty  white  flowers,  resem- 

bling the  wild  rose.  There  are  several  va- 
rieties of  the  tea  plant;  those  most  culti- 
vated are  Thea  boltea  and  Thea  viridis;  it 
was  formerly  believed  that  these  two  plants 
yielded  the  black  and  green  teas,  and  from 
this  belief  they  derived  their  names;  but  it 
is  now  proved  that  the  difference  arises  in 
the  mode  of  preparing,  and  that  either  kind 
of  tea  can  be  made  from  either  plant  with- 
out any  difficulty. 

In  China  there  are  great  numbers  of 
tea-farms,  generally  of  small  extent,  situ- 
ated on  the  upper  valleys,  and  on  the 
sloping  sides  of  the  hills,  where  the  soil  is 
light  and  rich,  and  well  drained.  The 
plants  are  raised  from  seed,  and  generally 
allowed  to  remain  three  years  before  a 
crop  of  leaves  is  taken  from  them,  as  this 
operation  of  course  injures  their  growth; 
even  with  care  they  become  stunted,  and 
unprofitable  in  about  eight  or  ten  years. 

^^^    the    Cr°P    ta    readv>   the    leave8    are 

carefully  picked  by  hand  one  by  one,  and 
there  are  usually  three  or  four  gatherings  in  each  year,  the  first  crop  in  the 
spring  being  of  the  most  value;  a  well-grown  bush,  well  treated,  will  pro- 
duce two  or  three  pounds  of  tea  annually. 

The  method  of  preparation  is  as  follows:  For  green  tea,  the  leaves  are 
only  allowed  to  dry  for  an  hour  or  two  after  gathering,  before  they  are 
thrown  into  heated  roasting-pans  placed  over  a  wood-fire;  they  are  stirred 
quickly  with  the  hands,  and  allowed  to  remain  for  a  few  minutes;  they  are 
next  rolled  by  hand  on  a  table  covered  with  mats,  and  afterward  roasted 
and  rolled  again;  the  color  is  by  this  time  set,  and  the  after-processes  of 
sorting  and  refiring,  which,  for  the  finer  sorts,  are  repeated  several  times, 
may  be  deferred  to  a  leisure  time.  In  the  preparation  of  black  tea  the 
leaves  are  allowed  to  remain  a  long  time,  say  a  whole  day,  drying,  before 
they  are  fired;  they  are  tossed  about  and  patted  while  cooling,  and  are 
finally  dried  over  a  much  slower  fire. 

The  tea  is  sent  from  the  farms  to  the  coast  for  exportation,  mostly  by 
coolies,  who  carry  the  chests  over  the  mountains  till  they  reach  some  navi- 
gable river  or  canal,  by  which  it  can  be  conveyed  to  the  coast.  It  is  said  to 
be  a  ctyioua  sight  to  watch,  from  the  top  of  a  wild  mountain-pass,  long 


TEA-PLANT,  FLOWER  AND  LEAF. 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETG.  293 

trains  of  coolies  laden  with  chests  of  tea,  which  they  carry  on  their  shoul- 
ders or  balanced  at  each  end  of  a  bamboo,  winding  along  in  one  direction, 
and  others  returning  laden  with  cotton  goods  and  other  merchandise 
received  in  exchange. 

Tea  was  first  brought  to  Europe  in  1610  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany; and  it  must  have  been  in  use  in  England  by  the  year  1660,  as  appears 
from  an  act  of  Parliament  passed  in  that  year,  in  which  a  tax  of  Is.  6d.  was 
laid  on  every  gallon  ot  tea  sold  at  the  coffee-houses.  There  is  also  the  fol- 
lowing entry  in  "Pepy's  Diary,"  dated  September  25, 1651:  "I  did  send  fora 


A  TEA  FARM. 

cup  of  tea  (a  China  drink),  of  which  I  had  never  drunk  before."  In  six  years 
more  it  had  found  its  way  into  his  own  house,  as  this  entry  shows:  "  Home 
— found  my  wife  making  of  tea,  a  drink  which  Mr.  Felling  the  potticary  tells 
her  is  good  for  her  cold,"  etc.  About  this  time  the  East  India  Company  or- 
dered "  one  hundred  pounds  weight  of  goode  tey  "  to  be  sent  home  on  specu- 
lation. The  price  was  about  fifty  or  sixty  shillings  the  pound,  and  two 
pounds  three  ounces  of  the  best  tea  was  not  deemed  an  unfitting  present 
from  the  East  India  Company  to  the  king.  But  so  greatly  has  the  exporta- 
tion increased,  that  now  more  than  fifty  thousand  tons  of  shipping  are  em- 
ployed in.  its  transportation,  while  it  is  consumed  at  the  present  moment  by 


294       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

probably  not  less  than  five  hundred  millions  of  men.  Still,  so  vast  is  the 
home  consumption  that  it  is  alleged  that,  were  Europeans  arid  Americans 
to  abandon  its  use  altogether,  the  price  would  not  be  much  diminished  in 
China. 

Coffee. — Coffee  is  the  seed  of  an  evergreen  shrub,  the  Cqffea  Arabica, 
which  is  said  to  have  been  discovered  in  Abyssinia  by  the  Arabs.  It  is 
chiefly  cultivated  in  Arabia,  the  Southern  States  of  North  America,  Costa 
liica,  Brazil,  and  other  tropical  portions  of  South  America,  the  East  and 


A  COFFEE  PLAOTATION. 

West  Indies,  Java,  and  Ceylon;  but  the  climate  of  Arabia,  where  it  was  first 
cultivated,  appears  to  be  most  suited  to  its  growth;  frequent  rains,  and  the 
brilliant  unshaded  light  of  its  almost  cloudless  sky,  stimulate  vegetation, 
and  cause  the  secretion  of  those  principles  on  which  depend  the  delicate 
aroma. 

Elevated  situations  are  most  suitable  for  the  growth  of  coffee,  and  the 
plantations  have  much  the  appearance  of  pleasure-grounds.  The  trees  are 
raised  from  slips,  which  are  allowed  four  or  five  years  to  grow  before  they 
are  cropped;  they  attain  the  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet,  and  continue  in 


TRESo,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


295 


Dearing  from  thirty  to  Jfty  years.  The  shrub  or  tree  resembles  a  hand- 
some laurel,  and  bears  a  profusion  of  clusters  of  fragrant  white  flowers, 
which  are  succeeded  by  brilliant  red  berries,  sweet  and  pulpy,  which  ripen 
to  a  purple  color — each  containing  two  coffee-seeds,  or  stones. 

The  process  of  preparing  coffee  for  market,  says  a  writer  in  Scribner's 
Magazine,  is  as  follows:  The  ripe  berries  when  picked  are  at  first  put 
through  a  machine  called  the  "  despulpador,"  which  removes  the  pulp;  the 
coffee  grains  are  still  covered  with  a  sort  of  glutinous  substance  which  ad- 
heres to  the  beau;  they  are  now  spread  out  on  large  "  patios,"  made 
specially  for  this  purpose,  and  left  there,  being  occasionally  tossed  about 
and  turned  over  with 
wooden  shovels  un- 
til they  are  perfectly 
dry.  They  are  then 
gathered  up  and  put 
into  the  "  retrilla,"  a 
circular  trough  in 
which  a  heavy  wood- 
en wheel,  shod  with 
steel,  is  made  to  re- 
volve, so  as  to  thor- 
oughly break  the 
huak  without  crush- 
ing the  bean.  The 
chaff  is  separated 
from  the  grain  by 
means  of  a  fanning- 
mill,  and  the  coffee  is 
now  thoroughly  dry 
and  clean.  After 
this,  it  is  the  custom 
of  some  planters  to 
have  it  spread  out  on 
long  tables  and  care- 
fully picked  over  by 
the  Indian  women 
and  children,  all  the 
bad  beans  being 
thrown  out.  It  only 
remains  then  to  have 
it  put  into  bags, 
weighed  and  marked,  THE  CACAO  TBEE. 

before  it  is  ready  for 

shipment  to  the  port.  On  some  of  the  larger  plantations  this  process  is 
greatly  simplified,  with  considerable  saving  in  time  and  labor,  by  the  use  of 
improved  machinery  for  drying  and  cleaning  the  coffee. 

Cocoa  and  Chocolate.— Cocoa  is  the  bruised  seed  of  various  species 
of  Iheobroma,  a  tree  which  grows  wild  in  the  West  India  Islands,  Brazil, 
and  various  parts  of  Central  America,  where  it  is  generally  found  growing 
at  the  height  of  six  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  cocoa,  or, 
as  it  should  be  written,  cacao,  tree  is  an  evergreen,  and  is  said  to  bear  some 
resemblance  to  a  young  cherry-tree;  the  leaves  are  large  and  simple,  the 


296      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL 

flowers  grow  in  clusters,  the  pods  are  not  unlike  cucumbers  in  form,  and  of 
a  yellowish  red  color;  they  contain  from  twenty  to  thirty  nuts,  about  the 
size  of  large  almonds,  violet,  or  ash-gray  colored,  and  containing  each  two 
lobes  of  a  brownish  hue.  A  wet  soil  is  needful  in  cultivation,  and  the 
plants  also  requiring  shade,  they  are  generally  placed  between  rows  of  largo 
trees,  which  render  the  plantations  very  charming  spots  in  tropical  regions; 
the  plants  are  raised  from  seed,  and  are  seven  or  eight  years  in  coming  to 
perfection,  but  require  so  little  attention  that  one  man  ca  i  superintend  one 
thousand  plants;  the  usual  times  of  gathering  the  crop  are  in  June  and  De- 
cember, and  not  more  than  one  pound  and  a  half  of  seeds  is  the  average 
produce  of  each  plant.  The  fruit  of  the  wild  plants  is  frequently  gathered. 
In  preparing  the  cacao  for  market,  the  seeds,  after  being  freed  from  the 
pod,  are  dried  either  in  the  sun  or  by  artificial  heat;  they  are  then  either 
simply  bruised,  which  makes  cocoa-nibs,  or  crushed  between  rollers,  which 
makes  flake  cocoa;  or  they  are  ground  and  made  into  a  paste,  in  which  state 
they  are  very  often  adulterated. 

Chocolate  is  so  called  from  chocolalt,  the  Mexican  name  for  the  cacao- 
tree.  The  produce  of  several  of  the  finest  kinds  is  not  exported ;  the  best 
that  reaches  us  is  from  Caraccas,  Guatemala  and  Berbice.  The  method  of 
preparation  is  as  follows:  The  cacao-beans  are  gently  roasted,  shelled  and 
reduced  to  a  paste,  when  vanilla,  cloves,  cinnamon,  rice,  almonds,  or 
starch,  etc.,  are  frequently  added  to  it;  it  is  put  into  molds,  and  always 
improves  by  keeping. 

Cotton. — Cotton  is  a  downy  substance  produced  on  the  seeds  of  the  cot- 
ton plant,  Gossypium,  which  is  herbaceous,  and  of  a  height  varying  from 
four  to  twenty  feet,  according  to  the  species;  it  has  downy  lobed  leaves,  and 
flowers  similar  in  form  to  those  of  the  common  mallow,  to  which  it  is  re- 
lated; in  some  species  the  flower  is  yellow,  and  in  others  of  a  dull  purple 
color.  The  seed-vessel  is  a  capsule,  which  opens  into  from  three  to  five 
lobes,  and  shows  the  seeds,  which  are  quite  covered  with  cotton;  in  some 
cases  this  is  of  a  bright  buff  color,  and  sometimes  it  is  white.  Plants  are 
often  covered  with  hairs  in  different  parts,  some  having  downy  stalks,  and 
some  downy  leaves  like  the  mullein;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  hairs  on  the 
seeds  are  not  at  all  common,  being  in  fact  very  much  confined  to  those 
plants  Avhich  are  allied  to  the  cotton-plant.  The  cotton-plant  seems  to  have 
been  indigenous  in  both  the  Old  World  and  the  New;  it  has  been  known  in 
India  from  time  immemorial,  and  still  grows  wild  in  many  parts.  When  the 
Spaniards  first  landed  in  America  they  found  it  growing  wild  there;  the 
species  native  to  the  different  continents  are  very  dissimilar;  but  both  are 
grown  in  the  present  day  in  India  as  well  as  in  America.  Dr.  Livingstone, 
the  great  modern  discoverer,  in  describing  the  new  land  he  has  brought  to 
light  in  Central  Africa,  says  that  both  cotton  and  indigo  grow  wild  over  the 
face  of  the  country,  which  appears  eminently  fitted  for  their  cultivation. 

In  every  mode  of  spinning  cotton  the  ends  to  be  accomplished  are,  to 
draw  out  the  loose  fibres  of  the  cotton-wool  in  a  regular  and  continuous 
line,  and  after  reducing  the  fleecy  roll  to  the  requisite  tenuity,  to  twist  it 
into  a  thread.  Previous  to  the  operation  of  spinning,  the  cotton  must  have 
undergone  the  process  of  carding,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  comb  out, 
straighten  and  lay  parallel  to  each  other  its  entangled  fibres.  The  cotton 
was  formerly  stripped  off  the  cards  in  loose  rolls,  called  cardings  or 
slivers,  and  the  only  difference  between  the  slivers  produced  by  the  old 
hand-cards  and  those  produced  by  the  present  carding  engine  is,  that  the 


TUEtiS,    PLANTS,   t'RVlTS,    ETC. 


297 


THE  COTTON  PLANT. 


former  were  in  lengths  of  a  few  iuches,  and  the  latter  are  of  a  length  of 
Borne  hundreds  of  yards.    Let  it  he  remarked  that  the  sliver  of  carding  re- 


298      CYCLOPEDIA    Of    VSEFVL   KNOWLEDGE. 

quires  to  be  drawn  out  to  a  considerably  greater  fineness  before  it  is  of  th6 
proper  thickness  to  be  twisted  into  a  thread.  The  way  in  which  this  is 
now  accomplished  is  by  two  or  more  pairs  of  email  rollers  placed  hori- 
zontally, the  upper  and  lower  roller  of  each  pair  revolving  in  contact;  the 
eliver  of  cotton  being  put  between  the  first  pair  of  rollers  is,  by  their  revolu- 
tion, drawn  through  and  compressed;  whilst  still  passing  through  these 
rollers,  it  is  caught  by  another  pair  of  rollers  placed  immediately  in  front. 


PICKING  COTTON. 

which  revolve  with  three,  four  or  five  times  the  velocity  of  the  first  pair, 
and  therefore  draw  out  the  iliver  to  three,  four  or  five  times  its  former 
length  and  degree  oi  fineness.  After  passing  through  the  last  pair  of  rollers 
the  reduced  sliver  is  attached  to  a  spindle  and  fly-wheel,  the  rapid  revolu- 
tions of  which  twist  it  into  a  thread,  and  at  the  same  time  wind  it  upon  a 
bobbin.  It  is  manifest  that,  by  increasing  the  length  of  roller  and  the  num- 
ber of  slivers,  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  threads  could  be  drawn  out  and 
spun  as  easily  as  one,  This  is  the  invention  generally  ascribed  to  Sir 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  299 

.Richard  Avkwright,  but  which  others  attribute  to  a  John  Wyatt,  whose 
partner,  a  man  named  Lewis  Paul,  took  out  a  patent  in  1708  for  this  very 
machine.  Auother  invention  was  made  in  about  1764,  by  a  poor  man  named 
Hargreaves;  ho  called  it  a  spinning  jenny,  and  it  is  said  that  ho  received  the 
original  idea  of  it  from  seeing  a  common  one-thread  spinning-wheel  over- 
turned upon  the  floor,  when  both  the  wheel  and  spindle  continued  to  revolve; 
this  suggested  to  him  the  notion  of  making  a  frame  in  which  a  number  ol 
upright  spindles  should  revolve  side  by  side,  and  all  be  turned  by  the 
motion  of  the  wheel.  At  first  only  eight  spindles  were  attached  to  a  frame, 
but  more  were  added  and  many  other  improvements  made.  These  two 
machines  were  used  to  spin  all  the  cotton  yarn  up  to  the  year  1779,  when 
another  improved  machine,  called  the  mule-jenny,  was  invented  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Crompton,  who  was  himself  a  weaver,  and  worked  his  new  machine 
with  his  own  hands  in  an  attic.  The  great  feature  of  this  new  invention  was, 
that  it  stretched  the  yarn  very  gently  and  steadily  after  it  was  twisted,  and 
this  produced  a  much  stronger  and  finer  material  than  any  that  had  been 
made  before.  Until  the  use  of  this  machine  it  was  thought  impossible  to 
spin  more  than  eighty  hanks  of  thread,  each  measuring  eight  hundred  and 
forty  yards,  from  one  pound  of  cotton,  whereas  with  U  three  hundred  and 
fifty  hanks  of  the  same  length  have  been  spun  from  the  same  weight. 

The  seed  of  the  cotton  is  planted  in  March,  April  and  May;  and  the  cotton 
is  gathered  by  hand  a  day  or  two  after  the  pods  burst,  which  is  hi  August, 
September  or  October.  It  is  carefully  planted  in  rows  five  feet  apart,  and 
with  a  foot  and  a  half  between  each  plant;  it  is  well  weeded,  thinned,  and 
pruned.  In  India  the  cultivation  is  much  more  careless,  and  the  quah'ty  of 
the  cotton  is  consequently  very  inferior.  A  field  of  cotton  ready  for  gather- 
ing is  very  beautiful,  when  the  globes  of  snowy  or  cream-colored  wool  are 
relieved  against  the  dark  glossy  leaves;  and  in  the  hottest  climates  this 
effect  is  still  further  heightened  by  the  beautiful  yellow  or  purple  flowers 
being  still  out  on  many  plants,  while  others  bear  the  ripe  cotton. 

It  is  stated  that  all  the  countries  in  the  world  could  never  have  prepared 
for  use  the  quantities  of  cotton  now  consumed  had  it  not  been  for  the  inven- 
tion of  the  cotton-gin,  by  Mr.  Eli  Whitney,  of  Connecticut.  Cotton  that  re- 
quired a  hand  a  day  to  clean  a  pound,  by  this  machine  could  be  prepared 
better  for  market  at  the  rate  of  three  hundred  pounds  per  day.  The  cotton 
is  seized  by  rows  of  teeth  formed  of  strong  wires  projecting  from  a  roller,  or 
by  teeth  like  those  of  a  saw,  made  upon  circular  plates  of  iron.  These  pass 
between  grate  bars,  set  so  closely  together  that  the  seed  cannot  pass 
through,  but  the  cotton  is  drawn  in,  and  afterward  swept  off  by  a  cylindrical 
brush.  The  importance  of  this  invention  cannot  be  overrated.  It  gave  an 
impetus  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  and  consequently  its  consumption,  that 
revolutionized  the  industrial  interests  of  the  country. 

There  is  both  a  tree  and  shrub  cotton;  the  former  grows  in  India,  China 
and  Egypt,  an<!  some  other  parts  of  Africa.  The  cotton  shrub  is  more  cul- 
tivated than  the  tree,  and  more  closely  resembles  the  herbaceous  kind.  The 
best  cotton  grows  on  the  sandy  shores  and  small  low  islands  along  the  sea 
coast  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  The,  cotton  plant  likes  a  dry  sandy 
soil,  with  a  great  admixture  of  salt,  and  if  the  plants  be  within  the  influence 
of  the  salt  sea  spray,  the  fibres  of  the  cotton  will  be  longer  and  finer  in  con- 
sequence. This  best  kind  of  cotton,  which  is  commonly  called  Sea-Island 
Cotton,  is  much  longer  in  its  fibre  than  any  other;  it  is  strong  and  even 
silky  in  texture,  and  has  a  yellowish  hue.  It  is  believed  that  Persia  is  the 
native  country  of  this  species  of  cotton. 


800      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEPVL 

Flax. — The  most  common  variety  of  the  flax  plant  has  a  very  slender 
erect  stem,  two  or  three  feet  high,  branching  only  near  the  top,  so  as  to  form 
a  loose  corymb  of  flowers.  The  leaves  are  small,  distant,  and  lanceolate; 
the  flowers  of  a  beautiful  blue,  rarely  white,  rather  broader  than  a  sixpence; 
the  petals  slightly  notched  along  the  margin;  the  sepals  ovate,  three- 
nerved,  ciliated,  destitute  of  glands;  the  capsules  scarcely  longer  than  the 
calyx,  not  bursting  open  elastically,  but  firmly  retaining  their  seeds,  which 
are  dark  brown,  glossy,  oval-oblong,  flat- 
tened, with  acute  edges,  pointed  at  one  end, 
and  about  a  line  in  length.  This  plant  is 
highly  valuable  both  for  the  fibres  of  its 
inner  bark  and  for  its  seeds.  The  fibres  of 
the  inner  bark,  when  separated  both  from 
the  bark  and  from  the  inner  woody,  portion 
of  the  stem,  are  flax  or  lint,  the  well-known 
material  of  which  linen  thread  and  cloth  are 
made,  and  used  equally  for  the  finest  and 
coarsest  fabrics,  for  the  most  delicate  cam- 
bric or  exquisite  lace,  and  for  the  strongest 
sail-cloth.  The  seeds  yield  by  expression 
the  fixed  oil  called  linseed  oil,  so  much 
used  for  mixing  paints,  making  varnishes, 
etc.;  whilst  the  remaining  crushed  mass  is 
the  linseed  cake,  or  oil  cake,  greatly 
esteemed  for  feeding  cattle,  and  when 
ground  to  a  fine  powder,  becomes  the  Un- 
seed meal  so  useful  for  poultices. 

When  the  seeds  are  beginning  to  change 
from  a  green  to  a  pale  brown,  is  the  best 
time  for  pulling  flax.  Where  the  crop  grows 
of  different  lengths,  these  lengths  should  be 
pulled  and  kept  separately,  uniformity  in 
this  respect  being  of  great  value  in  the  alter- 
processes.  The  process  first  gone  through 
after  pulling  is  rippling — which  consists  in 
tearing  off  the  bolls  by  pulling  the  stalks 
through  a  series  of  iron  teeth  eighteen  inchet 
long,  placed  within  a  distance  of  half  an  inch 
of  each  other.  These  are  fastened  in  a 
block  of  wood,  which  is  placed  at  the  end  of 
a  plank  or  long  stool  on  which  the  operator 
sits.  The  next  process  is  to  obtain  the  flaxen 
fibre  or  lint  free  from  the  woody  core,  or 
boon,  of  the  stem.  This  is  effected  by  steep- 
ing the  bundles  hi  water  till  the  boon  begins 

to  rot,  in  which  state  it  is  readily  separated  from  the  fibre.  The  operation 
is  called  rotting  or  retting,  and  requires  to  be  managed  with  great  care,  as  by 
continuing  it  too  long,  decomposition  might  extend  to  the  fibre,  and  render 
it  useless;  while  by  discontinuing  it  too  soon,  the  separation  could  not  be 
effected  with  sufficient  ease.  The  time  is  generally  determined  by  the 
nature  and  temperature  of  the  water  and  the  ripeness  of  the  flax.  After 
being  sufficiently  steeped,  the  flax  is  spread  out  on  the  grass,  to  rectify  any 
defect  in  the  retting,  and  ultimately  to  dry  it  for  the  breaking.  It  is  now 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


30i 


ready  to  be  freed  completely  of  its  woody  particles.  This  is  effected  by 
scutching.  Previous  to  this,  however,  the  flax  is  passed  through  a  brake  or 
revolving  rollers,  in  order  thoroughly  to  crack  the  boon.  The  brake,  worked 
by  manual  labor,  consists  of  a  frame,  in  the  upper  side  of  which  are  a  number 
of  grooves;  a  movable  piece  is  hinged  at  one  end,  anfl  provided  with  a  simi- 
lar grooved  piece  on  its  lower  side,  but  so  placed  that  the  projections  pass 
into  the  hollows  of  the  lower.  The  flax,  placed  between  these,  and  struck 
by  bringing  down  the  hinged  part,  is  broken,  but  the  fibre  remains  uninjured. 

Hemp. — Like  flax,  hemp  adapts  itself  to  diversities  of  climate,  and  ia 
cultivated  equally 
under  the  burning 
sun  of  the  tropics, 
and  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Russia.  It 
is,  however,  readily 
injured  by  frost, 
particularly  when 
young;  and  in  many 
countries  where  it 
is  cultivated,  it  suc- 
ceeds only  because 
their  summer  is  • 
sufficient  for  its 
whole  life.  It  varies 
very  muchin  height, 
according  to  the  soil 
and  climate,  being 
sometimes  only 
three  or  four  feet, 
and  sometimes  fif- 
teen or  twenty  feet, 
or  even  more.  The 
flowers  are  yellow- 
ish green,  small  and 
numerous;  the  male 
flowers  in  axillary 
racemes  on  the  up- 
per parts  of  the 
plant;  the  female 
flowers  in  short  ax- 
illary, and  rather 
crowded  spikes. 
The  female  plants 

are  higher  and  stronger  than  the  male.  The  stem  of  hemp  is  hollow  or  only 
nlled  with  a  soft  pith.  This  pith  is  surrounded  by  a  tender,  brittle  sub- 
stance, consisting  chiefly  of  cellular  tissue,  with  some  woody  fibre,  which 
is  called  the  reed,  boon,  or  shove  of  hemp.  Over  this  is  the  thin  bark,  com- 
posed chiefly  of  fibres  extending  in  a  parallel  direction  along  the  stalk,  with 
an  outer  membrane  or  cuticle. 

Hemp  is  cultivated  for  its  fibre  in  almost  all  countries  of  Europe,  and  hi 
many  other  temperate  parts  of  the  world;  most  extensively  in  Poland,  and 
in  the  center  and  south  of  European  Russia,  which  are  the  chief  hemp-ex- 


302       CYCLOPAEDIA    01'    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

porting  countries.  The  finer  kinds  are  used  for  making  cloth;  the  coarser, 
for  sail-cloth  and  ropes.  Hemp  sown  thin  produces  a  coarser  fibre  than 
that  which  is  sown  thick.  Something  also  depends  upon  the  time  of  pulling, 
for  the  crop  is  pulled  by  hand.  When  a  rather  fine  fibre  is  wanted,  and  the 
seed  is  not  regarded,  the  whole  crop  is  pulled  at  once,  soon  after  flowering; 
otherwise,  it  is  usual  to  pull  the  male  plants  as  soon  as  they  have  shed  their 
pollen,  and  to  leave  the  female  plants  to  ripen  their  seed,  in  which  case  the 
fibre  of  the  female  plants  is  much  coarser.  The  treatment  of  hemp,  by  ret- 
ting, etc.,  is  similar  to  that  of  flax. 

Sugar. — This  well-known  article  may  be  made  from  various  products, 
but  the  ordinary  sugar  of  commerce  is  that  made  from  the  juice  of  the  sugar 
cane,  a  native  of  tropical  and  eub-tropical  countries.  It  is  usually  propa- 
gated by  cuttings.  For  this  purpose  the  top  joints  are  used.  The  cuttings 
are  planted  in  rows  three  or  four '  feet  apart,  and  at  intervals  of  about  two 
feet  in  the  rows.  The  largest  varieties,  in  rich  moist  soils,  attain  a  height  of 
twenty  feet;  but  in  dry,  poor  soil,  the  height  is  sometimes  scarcely  more 
than  six  feet.  The  plant  titters  like  wheat,  but  not  to  the  same  degree.  The 
cane  ground  is  kept  clean  by  hand-hoeing,  or  by  the  plough.  Hand-hoeing 
was  formerly  universal  in  the  West  Indies,  but  the  plough  is  now  very  gen- 
erally used  where  the  nature  of  the  ground  permits.  The  best  varieties  are 
ready  for  cutting  in  about  ten  months  from  the  time  of  planting,  but  other 
varieties  require  a  longer  period  of  growth,  from  twelre  to  twenty  months. 
When  the  canes  are  fully  ripe,  they  are  cut  a  little  above  the  ground,  and 
tied  in  bundles  to  be  conveyed  to  the  mill.  Fresh  canes,  called  raUoons, 
spring  from  the  root,  so  that  the  plantation  does  not  require  to  be  renewed 
for  several  years;  but  the  canes  of  the  first  crop  are  the  largest,  and  a' grad- 
ual decrease  of  size  takes  place.  The  ordinary  practice  on  sugar  estates  is 
to  renew  a  part  of  the  plantation  every  year. 

The  extraction  of  juice  from  the  sugar-cane  is  effected  by  simple  pres- 
sure. The  canes,  freed  from  all  loose  leaves,  are  passed  between  the 
rollers  of  the  machine,  under  great  pressure.  From  one  hundred  pounds 
of  cane  sixty-five  to  seventy-five  pounds  of  cane  juice  will  be  expressed. 
This  juice,  which  has  a  sweetish  taste  and  is  of  the  color  of  dirty  water, 
passes  direct  from  the  mill  to  a  small  reservoir,  where  it  usually  receives  a 
small  dose  of  quicklime,  and  without  delay  runs  off  to  large  iron  or  copper 
vessels,  heated  either  by  a  fire  underneath,  or  by  steam-pipes  in  the  liquid. 
As  the  temperature  of  the  juice  rises,  a  thick  scum  comes  to  the  top,  which 
is  either  removed  by  skimming,  or  the  warm  juice  is  drawn  off  from  below 
the  scum.  The  concentration  of  the  juice  is  partly  effected  in  a  series  of 
large  open  hemispherical  iron  pans  about  six  to  eight  feet  in  diameter,  of 
which  five  or  six  are  placed  in  a  row,  with  a  large  fire  under  the  one  at  the 
end.  This  one  fire,  which  runs  along  under  the  whole  row  of  pans,  is  found 
sufficient  to  make  two  or  three  of  them  nearest  the  fire  boil  violently,  and  in 
addition,  it  warms  the  juice  in  the  pans  farthest  from  the  fire.  As  the  juice 
first  enters  the  pans  farthest  from  the  fire,  it  gets  gradually  heated,  and  the 
vegetable  impurities  rise  in  scum  to  the  top,  and  are  carefully  removed.  As 
the  juice  is  ladled  from  one  pan  to  the  next,  it  boils  with  greater  and  greater 
vigor  as  it  approaches  nearer  the  fire,  until  in  the  pan  immediately  over  the 
fire  it  seethes  and  foams  with  excessive  violence;  and  this  seems  to  be  es- 
sential to  the  successful  making  of  sugar.  After  the  concentration  has 
been  carried  to  a  given  point,  and  all  the  scum  has  been  got  rid  of,  the  ap- 
plication of  a  high  heat,  which  would  act  with  an  increasingly  destrugtive. 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


303 


effect  aa  the  condensation  becomes  greater,  is  suspended,  and  the  liquor, 
now  of  the  color  of  turbid  port  wine,  and  of  the  consistency  of  oil,  is  drawn 
into  the  vacuum-pan,  where  the  concentration  is  completed  at  the  lowest 
possible  temperature,  generally  about  150°  Fahrenheit.  The  vacuum-pan 


GATHERING  SUGAR-CANE. 

is  generally  made  of  copper,  of  a  spherical  form,  and  from  six  to  nine  feet  in 
diameter.  The  bottom  is  double,  leaving  a  space  of  an  inch  or  two  for  the 
admission  of  steam  between  the  two  bottoms,  and  there  is  generally  a  long 
coiled  copper  pipe  of  three  or  four  inches  diameter  above  the  inner  bottom, 
so  as  to  still  further  increase  the  amount  of  heating  surface.  This  ap- 
paratus 18  made  perfectly  air  tight  arid  steam  tight.  Leading  from  its  upper 


304       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

dome  there  is  a  large  pipe  communicating  with  a  condenser,  into  which  a 
rush  of  cold  water  is  continually  passing,  so  as  to  condense  all  the  steam  or 
vapor  that  arises  from  the  liquid  boiling  in  the  vacuum-pan.  The  water 
which  is  constantly  rushing  into  the  condenser  is  as  steadily  withdrawn 
again  by  the  pump.  There  is  thus  a  constant  vacuum  in  the  pan,  and,  con- 
sequently the  liquid  in  it  will  boil  at  a  much  lower  temperature  than  it 
would  in  an  open  pan  or  boiler. 

As  the  concentration  of  the  liquid  in  the  vacuum  pan  proceeds,  crystals  ot 
sugar  begin  to  form,  and  the  skill  of  the  sugar  boiler  is  shown  by  the  uni- 
formity of  the  crystals  he  produces.  The  boiling  is  commenced  by  filling  in 
only  a  third  or  fourth  of  the  quantity  the  vacuum  pan  will  hold,  and  grad- 
ually adding  more  liquid  as  the  crystals  increase  in  size.  The  sugar  boiler 
is  able  to  watch  the  changes  going  on  in  the  vacuum-pan  by  means  of  small 
samples  he  withdraws  from  it  by  means  of  a  suitable  apparatus.  The 
sugar-boiler  holds  those  drops  of  thick  fluid  on  his  finger  and  thumb,  be- 
tween his  eye  and  a  strong  light,  and  is  thus  able  to  detect  those  minute 
changes  in  its  condition  which  show  that  it  is  time  to  add  an  additional 
quantity.  By  the  time  the  vacuum-pan  is  full,  the  contents  have  thickened, 
by  the  formation  of  crystals  of  sugar,  into  a  mass  ol  the  consistency  of  thick 
gruel;  it  ia  then  allowed  to  descend  into  a  vessel  called  the  heater,  where  it 
is  simply  kept  warm  until  it  can  be  run  out  into  the  "  forms,"  which,  in  the 
sugar-growing  colonies,  are  generally  conical  earthen  pots,  holding  from 
one  to  two  cwts.  of  sugar.  It  is  allowed  to  cool  and  complete  its  crystalliza- 
tion before  the  plugs,  which  close  the  bottom  of  the  pots,  are  withdrawn. 
"When  this  is  done,  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  contents  of  the  form, 
which  has  remained  in  a  fluid  state,  runs  off  into  gutters  leading  to  large 
tanks,  from  which  it  is  again  pumped  up  into  the  vacuum-pan,  and  rebelled, 
yielding  a  second  quality  of  sugar.  This  rebelling  of  the  drainings  is  re- 
peated, with  a  continually  decreasing  result,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  solid  sugar  obtained,  and  it  is  rarely  carried  beyond  the  fourth  boil- 
ing. If  the  planter  wishes  to  obtain  Muscovada  or  unclayed  sugar,  the  pro- 
cess is  now  complete,  and  the  sugar  is  turned  out  of  the  forms,  and  packed 
for  shipment.  In  some  cases,  the  sugar  is  run  direct  from  the  vacuum  pans 
into  casks  or  hogshead,  which  replace  the  forms,  holes  being  bored  in  the 
bottoms  of  the  casks,  to  admit  of  the  uncrystallized  portion  of  the  sugar 
draining  out. 

If  clayed  sugar  is  to  be  made,  the  forms  are  allowed  to  stand  for  a  few 
iays  until  all  the  molasses  has  drained  out;  and  a  quantity  of  thin  mud, 
about  the  consistency  of  good  thick  cream,  is  then  poured  over  the  sugar,  to 
the  depth  of  one  or  two  inches.  The  water  contained  in  this  thin  mud  slowly 
steals  down  through  the  sugar,  and  mixing  with  the  coatings  of  molasses 
still  adhering  to  the  outsides  of  the  crystals  of  sugar,  renders  them  less 
viscid,  and  facilitates  their  descent  to  the  bottom  of  the  form.  The  mud  re- 
mains, at  the  end  of  a  few  days,  in  the  form  of  a  dry  hard  cake  on  the  top  of 
the  sugar,  and  none  mixes  with  the  sugar.  The  process  of  claying  sugar  is 
simply  washing  off  a  coating  of  black  and  yellow  molasses  from  a  crystal  of 
sugar,  which  is  always  white.  This  operation  is  possible  without  dissolving 
the  crystal  of  sugar,  simply  because  the  molasses  has  a  greater  affinity  for 
water  than  the  crystallized  sugar  has.  Into  the  various  processes  of  sugar 
refining  we  have  not  space  to  enter. 

Tobacco. — Tobacco  is  a  herbaceous  plant,  with  large  broad  leaves,  and 
everywhere  covered  with  clammy  hairs.  It  is.  a.  native  of  the  warm  parts  of 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETV. 


303 


the  United  States  and  other  tropical  countries.  It  is  cultivated  on  account 
of  its  narcotic  property,  which  resides  iu  all  parts  of  the  plant,  though  tho 
leaves  are  almost  exclusively  used.  The  Virginian  tobacco  attains  at  ma- 
turity a  height  of  five  or  six  feet,  has  leaves  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  long, 
ani  rose-colored  flowers.  The  cultivation  of  tobacco  is  not  difficult,  and, 
although  a  warm  climate  suite  it  best,  it  is  successfully  raised  in  compara- 
tively cold  latitudes.  The  usual  plan  in  the  great  tobacco  producing  coun- 
tries is  to  sow  the  seed  in  seed-beds  of  rich  soil,  and  as  the  seed  is  extremely 
minute,  it  is  first  mixed  largely  with  sand  or  wood  ashes,  to  assist  in 
spreading  it  thinly.  In  Virginia,  which  may  be  taken  as  one  of  the  best 
tobacco-growing  districts,  this  is  usually  done  in  the  first  week  in  January. 
After  the  seed-beds  have  been  carefully  prepared  and  sown,  small  branches 
of  trees  are  laid  over,  to  protect  the  seed  when  it  germinates  from  the 
sftects  of  frost;  but  these  are  removed  as  soon  as  can  be  done  with  safety, 
and  the  plants  then  grow  rapidly,  and  are  ready 
for  transplanting  into  the  fields  about  the  be- 
ginning of  June.  The  land  in  the  fields  is  very 
carefully  prepared,  and  small  hillocks  are 
raised  up  in  rows;  each  is  about  a  foot  in 
diameter,  and  flattened  at  the  top.  With  the 
first  appearance  of  rain,  the  plants  are  care- 
fully raised  from  the  seed-beds,  and  carried, 
usually  by  children,  who  deposit  one  on  each 
hillock,  on  which  it  is  carefully  planted  by  ex- 
perienced men,  who  follow  after  the  children. 
Only  wet  weather  will  do  for  planting,  so  that 
this  operation  often  lasts  until  the  end  of 
July.  When  planted,  the  tobacco  crop  requires 
much  careful  attention  to  weeding,  and  a  watch- 
ful eye  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  various  insect 
enemies.  Much  of  this  latter  work  is  done  by 
flocks  of  turkeys,  kept  on  purpose  by  the  plant- 
ers. As  soon  as  the  plants  begin  to  throw  up 
the  flower  shoot,  it  is  nipped  off;  otherwise  it 
would  weaken  the  leaves;  but  this  process  is 
neglected  in  some  countries,  especially  in 
Turkey  and  Greece,  where  small  leaves  are 
preferred,  and  where,  in  some  cases,  as  in  the  TOBACCO. 

celebrated  Latakia  tobacco,  both  leaves,  buds, 

and  flowers  are  used.  The  time  generally  chosen  for  cutting  it  is  mid-day, 
or  when  the  sun  is  powerful,  and  the  morning  and  evening  dews  absent. 
The  cutting  is  done  by  hand,  and  only  such  plants  are  chosen  as  are  ready, 
which  is  known  by  a  clammy  exudation  which  forms  over  the  leaf,  often 
giving  it  a  spotted  appearance.  If  the  plants  are  very  large,  the  stalk  is 
often  split  down,  to  facilitate  the  drying.  They  are  then  removed  from  the 
field  to  the  tobacco  house,  around  which  are  erected  light  scaffolds,  to  which 
the  plants  are  suspended,  generally  by  passing  a  thin  stick  through  a  split 
in  the  stalk  of  each,  and  so  placing  a  number  of  plants  on  each  stick,  just 
near  enough  to  prevent  them  touching  each  other.  After  some  time  hang- 
ing in  the  open  air,  the  plants  on  the  sticks  are  removed,  and  suspended  in 
a  similar  way  inside  the  curing  house,  until  the  drying  is  completed.  The 
leaves  are  removed  from  the  stalks,  and  all  bad  ones  rejected.  The  chosen 
onea  are  tied  up  in  bundles  called  hands;  these  are  solidly  packed  in  hogs- 


306       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

heads,  and  in  this  condition  are  transported  to  market.    The  consumption  in 
nearly  all  parts  of  the  world  is  very  great. 

The  India  Rubber  Tree The  India  rubber  tree  is  found  in  parts 

of  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America, 
and  in  the  East  Indies,  and  is  one  of 
the  noblest  and  most  picturesque  of  all 
the  trees  of  the  forest.  In  Assam,  be- 
yond the  Ganges,  it  is  found  in  inex- 
haustible abundance.  It  is  either  soli- 
tary, or  in  two  or  three  fold  groups;  is 
large  and  umbrageous,  and  may  be 
distinguished  from  other  trees  at  a  dis- 
tance of  several  miles  by  the  striking 
beauty  of  its  dense  and  lofty  crown. 
The  main  trunk  of  one  of  the  Assam 
trees  measured  seventy-four  feet  in 
circumference,  and  the  area  covered  by 
its  expanded  branches  had  a  circum- 
ference of  six  hundred  and  ten  feet. 
The  height  of  the  central  tree  was  one 
hundred  feet.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  there  are  over  forty-three  thou- 
sand such  trees  in  one  district  within 
an  area  of  thirty  miles  by  eight.  It 
grows  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains 
from  the  valleys  up  to  an  elevation  of 
twenty-two  thousand  feet.  The  raw 
seeds  are  poisonous  to  man  and  quad- 
rupeds, but  macaws  eat  them,  and 
they  are  used  as  bait  for  fish.  Long 
boiling  deprives  them  of  their  poison. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  quantity 
of  rubber  or  caoutchouc  furnished  to 
commerce  comes  from  Brazil.  The 
tree  is  tapped  in  the  morning,  and  dur- 
ing the  day  a  gill  of  fluid  is  received  in 
a  clay  cup  placed  at  each  incision  in 
the  trunk.  This  when  full  is  turned 
into  a  jar,  and  is  ready  at  once  to  be 
poured  over  any  pattern  of  clay,  the 
form  of  which  it  takes  as  successive 
layers  are  thus  applied.  It  comes  from 
the  tree  purely  colorless,  like  milk,  but 
when  dried  by  the  sun  it  is  white  with- 
in and  a  yellowish-brown  without.  Ita 
drying  and  hardening  are  hastened  by 
exposure  to  the  smoke  and  heat  of  a 
fire,  and  it  thus  acquires  it?  ordinary 
black  color.  Complete  drying  by  the 
sun  requires  several  days'  exposure;  during  this  time  the  substance  is 
soft  enough  to  receive  impressions  from  a  stick,  and  is  thus  ornamented 
with  various  designs.  The  natives  collect  it  upon  balls  of  clay  in  the  forma 


THE  INDIA  RUBBER  TREE. 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


307 


of  bottles  and/various  fanciful  figures,  in  which  shape  it  is  often  exported. 
The  clay  mold  over  which  the  bottles  are  formed,  being  broken  up,  is  ex- 
tracted through  the  open  neck.  Usually  it  has  been  brought  to  this  country 
in  flat  cakes;  but  a  method  has  been  devised  by  which  the  liquid  is  shipped 
in  air-tight  vessels  of  tin  or  glass  just  as  it  comes  from  the  tree. 

Gutta  Percha. —This  substance,  in  many  respects  similar  to  caout- 
chouc, or  India  rubber,  is  the  dried  milky  juice  of  a  tree  which  is  found  in 
the  peninsula  of  Malacca  and  the  Malayan  Archipelago.  It  is  a  very  large 
tree,  the  trunk  being  sometimes  three  feet  in  diameter,  although  it  is  of  little 
use  as  a  timber  tree,  the  wood  being  spongy.  The  leaves  are  alternate,  on 
long  stalks,  somewhat  leathery, 
green  above  and  of  a  golden  color 
beneath.  The  flowers  are  in  little 
tufts  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves, 
small,  each  on  a  distinct  stalk. 
The  present  mode  of  obtaining  the 
gutta  percha  is  a  most  destructive 
one.  The  finest  trees  are  selected 
and  cut  down,  and  the  bark 
stripped  off;  between  the  wood 
and  bark,  a  milky  juice  is  found, 
which  is  scraped  up  into  little 
troughs  made  of  plantain  leaves. 
This  is  the  gutta  percha,  which,  as 
it  hardens,  is  kneaded  into  cakes, 
and  exported.  It  has  a  very  light 
reddish-brown,  or  almost  a  flesh 
color,  is  full  of  irregular  pores 
elongated  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  mass  has  been  kneaded.  It 
has  a  cork-like  appearance  when 
cut,  and  a  peculiar  cheese-like 
odor.  Before  it  can  be  used,  it 
has  to  undergo  aome  preparation. 
This  consists  in  slicing  the  lumps 
into  thin  shavings,  which  arei 
placed  in  a  deviUing  or  tearing  ma-' 
chine  revolving  in  a  trough  of  hot 
water.  This  reduces  the  shavings 
to  exceedingly  small  pieces,  which 
by  the  agitation  of  the  tearing 
teeth  are  washed  free  from  many  impurities,  especially  fragments  of 
the  bark  of  the  tree,  which,  if  not  separated,  would  interfere  with  the 
compactness  of  its  texture,  which  is  one  of  its  most  important  qualities. 
The  small  fragments,  when  sufficiently  cleansed,  are  kneaded  into 
masses  which  are  rolled  several  times  between  heated  cylinders,  which 
press  out  any  air  or  water  and  render  the  mass  uniform  in  texture. 
It  is  then  rolled  between  heated  steel  rollers  into  sheets  of  various 
thickness  for  use,  or  is  formed  into  rods,  pipes  for  water,  or  speaking- 
tubes,  and  an  endless  number  of  other  articles.  Gutta  percha  differs  very 
materially  from  caoutchouc  or  India  rubber  in  being  non-elastic,  or  elastic 
only  in  a  very  small  degree. 


GUTTA  PEBCHA. 


308       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF     USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Cork  Tree.— The  cork  tree  ia  a  species  of  oak  which  grows 
abundantly  in  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy  and  the  northern  part  of  Africa.  It 
grows  to  a  height  of  from  twenty  to  forty  feet,  and  has  long  evergreen 
leaves.  The  bark  in  trees  or  branches  from  three  to  five  years  old  acquires 
a  fungus  appearance,  new  layers  of  cellular  tissue  being  formed,  and  the 
outer  parts  cracking  from  custension,  until  they  are  finally  thrown  off  in 
large  flakes,  when  a  new  formation  of  tho  same  kind  takes  place.  Cork  in- 
tended for  the  market  is  generally  stripped  off  a  year  or  two  before  it  would 
naturally  come  away,  and  the  process  is  repeated  at  intervals  of  six  or  eight 
years.  The  bark  of  young  trees  and  branches  is  either  useless  or  of  very 
inferior  quality;  it  is  only  after  the  third  peeling  that  good  cork  is  produced. 
The  removal  of  the  cork  being  not  the  removal  of  the  whole  bark,  but  only 
of  external  layers  of  spongy  cellular  tissue,  all  or  greater  part  of  which  has 
ceased  to  have  any  true  vitality,  and  has  become  an  incumbrance  to  the 
tree,  is  s:>  far  from  being  injurious,  that  when  done  with  proper  care,  it 
rather  promotes  the  health  of  the  tree,  which  continues  to  yield  crops  of 
cork  for  almost  •  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  In  stripping  off  the  cork, 
longitudinal  and  transverse  incisions  are  made  to  the  proper  depth,  and 
each  piece  is  then  cut  away  from  the  tree  by  a  curved  knife  with  two 
handles.  The  pieces  are  soaked  in  water,  pressed  flat,  dried  and  super- 
ficially charred,  to  remove  decayed  parts  and  conceal  blemishes,  before 
they  are  packed  in  bales  for  the  market. 

The  Castor  Oil  Plant.— The  castor  oil  plant  belongs  to  an  order 
whose  affinities  have  not  yet  been  accurately  limited  by  botanists;  but  it  is 
supposed  to  comprise  at  least  one  thousand  five  hundred  species,  dis- 
tributed in  each  quarter  of  the  globe  from  the  equator  to  latitudes  as  high 
as  Great  Britain;  sometimes  in  the  form  of  large  trees,  frequently  of  bushes, 
still  more  usually  of  diminutive  weeds,  and  occasionally  of  deformed,  leaf- 
less, succulent  plants,  resembling  the  cacti.  The  plant  is  highly  valuable 
for  the  excellent  medical  virtues  of  the  oil  which  it  furnishes;  its  root  is  said 
to  be  diuretic.  The  positions  of  the  flowers  are  shown  in  our  illustration; 
but  it  is  from  the  seed  that  the  oil  is  extracted,  three  of  which,  of  an  oblong 
flattish  form,  are  enclosed  in  each  receptacle.  The  oil  is  prepared  chiefly 
in  the  East  Indies  and  in  the  West  India  Islands,  the  United  States,  and 
also  in  the  south  of  Europe.  In  extracting  the  oil,  the  seeds  are  first 
bruised  between  heavy  rollers,  and  then  pressed  in  hempen  bags  under  a 
hydraulic  or  screw  press.  The  best  variety  of  oil  is  thus  obtained  by  press- 
ure in  the  cold,  and  is  known  as  cold-drawn  castor  oil;  but  if  the  bruised 
and  pressed  seeds  be  afterwards  steamed,  or  heated,  and  again  pressed,  a 
second  quality  of  oil  is  obtained,  which  is  apt  to  become  partially  solid  or 
frozen  in  cold  weather.  In  either  case  the  crude  oil  is  heated  with  water  to 
212°,  which  coagulates,  and  separates  the  albumen  and  other  impurities. 
Exposure  to  the  sun's  light  bleaches  the  oil,  and  this  process  is  resorted  to 
on  the  large  scale.  When  pure  and  cold  drawn,  castor  oil  is  of  a  light-yel- 
low color;  but  when  of  inferior  quality,  it  has  a  greenish,  and  occasionally  a 
brownish  tinge. 

The  Camphor  Tree. — Tho  Lauruscamphwa  of  China  is  an  evergreen 
of  the  laurel  family,  having  glossy  leaves  and  bearing  clusters  of  yellowish 
flowers,  which  are  succeeded  by  bunches  of  fruit  resembling  black  currants. 
This  valuable  tree,  which  often  adorns  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  was  in  sev- 
eral places  found  by  Lord  Amherst's  embassy  above  fifty  fset  high,  with  ita 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


THE  CASTOB  OIL  PLANT. 


trunk  twenty  feet  in  circumference.    The  Chinese  themselves  affirm  that  it 
sometimes  attains  the  height  of  more  than  three  hundred  feet,  and  a  circuru- 


310      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


ference  greater  than  the  extended  arms  of  twenty  men  could  embrace. 
Camphor  is  obtained  from  the  branches  by  steeping  them,  while  fresh  cut, 
in  water  for  two  or  three  days,  and  then  boiling  them  till  the  gum,  in  the 
form  of  a  white  jelly,  adheres  to  a  stick  which  is  used  in  constantly  stirring 
the  branches.  The  fluid  is  then  poured  into  a  glazed  vessel,  where  it  con- 
cretes in  a  few  hours.  To  purify  it  the  Chinese  take  a  quantity  of  finely- 
powdered  earth,  which  they  lay  at  the  bottom  of  a  copper  basin;  over  this 
they  place  a  layer  of  camphor,  and  then  another  layer  of  earth,  and  so  on 
until  the  vessel  is  nearly  filled,  the  last  or  topmost  layer  being  of  earth. 
They  cover  this  last  layer  with  leaves  of  a  plant  called  poho,  which  seems  to 
be  a  species  of  mentha  (mint).  They  now  invert  a  second  basin  over  the 

first,  and  make  it  air-tight 
by  luting.  The  whole  ia 
then  submitted  to  the 
action  of  a  regulated  fire 
for  a  certain  time,  and 
then  left  to  cool  gradually. 
On  separating  the  vessels 
the  camphor  is  found  to 
have  sublimed,  and  to 
have  adhered  to  the  upper 
basin.  Repetitions  of  the 
same  process  complete  its 
refinement.  Besides  yield- 
ing this  invaluable  in- 
gredient, the  camphor  tree 
is  one  of  the  principal  tim- 
ber trees  of  China,  and  is 
used  not  only  in  building 
but  in  most  articles  of 
furniture.  The  wood  is 
dry  and  of  a  light  color. 

In  the  Island  of  Suma- 
tra there  is  a  variety  of 
the  camphor-tree  which  ia 
much  larger  than  that  of 
China,  under  the  bark  of 
which  the  gum  is  found 
in  a  concrete  form,  and 
from  which  it  is  brushed 
down  carefully  with  long 
brooms.  Another  variety  of  the  same  tree  yields  its  gum  in  the  form  of 
pith.  In  this  case  the  gatherers  first  pierce  the  trees  with  an  axe  to  dis- 
cover their  worth,  as  no  outward  sign  betrays  whether  the  heart  of  the  tree 
will  be  found  to  contain  oil,  a  resinous  pitch,  or  gum.  After  the  axe  has 
disclosed  the  white  and  shining  substance  for  which  they  seek,  the  tree  is 
cut  down,  divided  into  lengths  of  about  three  feet,  and  split  open  very  care- 
fully, when  the  gum  is  taken  out  in  solid  rolls,  often  as  large  as  a  man's 
arm,  and  all  ready  for  market.  One  tree  sometimes  furnishes  as  much  as 
eleven  pounds  of  gum,  of  so  fine  a  quality  is  to  be  valued  by  the  Chinese  at 
fifty  times  the  price  of  that  produced  by  their  own  trees.  This  superior 
quality,  of  which  the  Island  of  Sumatra  yields  only  about  three  hundred 
pounds  a  year,  ifl  rarely,  if  ever,  exported. 


THE  CAMPHOK  TBEE. 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


3U 


Peppermint.— -The  mint  family  of  plants,  of  which  the  most  important 
species  are  peppermint,  spearmint  and  penny-royal,  all  contain  an  aromatic 
essential  oil,  possessing  medicinal  qualities.  The  peppermint  plant  is  widely 
distributed  over  the  temperate  parts  of  the  world,  is  easily  propagated  and 
readily  recognized  by  the  peculiar  pungency  of  ita  odor.  Wayne  County, 


PEPPERMINT. 


New  York,  produces  about  two-thirds  of  the  peppermint  crop  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  grown  on  black  ash  swamps,  which  have  been  under-drained 
thoroughly,  from  roots  which  are  planted  as  hops  are.  When  cut  it  is  par- 
tially dried  and  taken  to  a  still,  where  the  oil  is  extracted.  The  oil  sells 
from  $2.50  to  $5  per  pound,  and  when  it  brings  $3  the  crop  is  a  paying  one. 


312 


Of 


KNOWLEDGE. 


About  seventy  thousand  pounds  are  used  annually  in  producing  medicines, 
manufacturing  candies,  and  making  cordials. 

Wine  Growingf.  —  In  Spain,  Portugal,  Prance,  Italy  and  elsewhere  the 
manufacture  of  wine  from  grapes  is  an  important  industry  of  the  people. 
It  is  said  that  in  the  south  of  France,  wine  is  drank  almost  as  freely  aa 
water  in  other  countries.  The  peasant  women  of  these  localities  labor 
almost  exclusively  out  of  doors,  and  may  be  seen,  not  only  engaged  in  gath- 
ering the  grapes,  but  in  carrying  huge  baskets  of  them  to  the  wine-pressea. 

Attar  of  Roses.  —  The  rose  gardens  of  Ghazepore  are  fields  in  which 
11  rose-bushes  are  planted  in  rows.    In  the  morning  they  are  red  with 


•WINE  GBOWTNO. 

blossoms,  but  these  are  all  gathered  before  mid-day,  and  their  leaves  dis- 
tilled in  clay  stills,  with  twice  their  weight  of  water.  The  water  which 
comes  over  is  placed  in  open  vessels,  covered  with  a  moist  muslin  cloth,  to 
keep  out  dust  and  flies,  and  exposed  all  night  to  the  cool  air,  or  to  artificial 
cold — as  we  set  out  milk  to  throw  out  its  cream.  In  the  morning,  a  thin 
film  of  oil  has  collected  on  the  top,  which  is  swept  off  with  a  feather,  and 
carefully  transferred  to  a  email  phial.  This  is  repeated  night  after  night, 
till  nearly  the  whole  of  the  oil  is  separated  from  the  water.  Twenty  thou- 
sand roses  are  required  to  yield  a  rupee-weight  of  oil,  which  sells  for  $50. 
Pure  attar  of  roses  is,  therefore,  seldom  to  be  met  with.  That  which  ia  so 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  318 

in  the  Indian  bazars  is  adulterated  with  sandal-wood  oil,  or  diluted  with 
sweet  salad  oils.  What  we  obtain  in  America  is  generally  still  more  diluted, 
as  the  price  we  usually  give  for  it  sufficiently  shows. 

Apricots.— The  apricot  is  a  species  of  the  same  genus  as  the  plum,  and 
is  a  native  of  Armenia,  and  of  the  countries  eastward  to  China  and  Japan; 
a  middle-sized  tree  of  fifteen  to  twenty  or  even  thirty  feet  high,  with  smooth, 
doubly-toothed  leaves  on  long  stalks,  white  flowers  which  appear  before  the 
leaves,  and  fruit  resembling  the  peach,  roundish,  downy,  yellow,  and  ruddy 
on  the  side  next  the  sun,  with  yellow  flesh.  More  than  twenty  kinds  are 
distinguished,  amongst  which  some  excel  very  much  hi  size,  fine  color, 
sweetness,  and  abundance  of  juice.  The  apricot  is  generally  budded  on 
plum  or  wild  cherry  stocks.  The  fruit  keeps  only  for  a  very  short  time,  and 
is  either  eaten  fresh,  or  made  into  a  preserve  or  jelly.  Apricots  split  tip, 
having  the  stone  taken  out,  and  dried,  are  brought  from  Italy  as  an  article 
of  commerce;  in  the  south  of  France,  also,  they  are  an  article  of  export  hi  a 
preserved  and  candied  state.  Dried  apricots  from  Bokhara,  the  kernels  of 
which  are  perfectly  sweet,  are  sold  in  the  towns  of  Kussia. 

Rice.  -Kica  is  cultivated  extensively  hi  the  Southern  States  of  America, 
China,  India,  Japan,  and  elsewhere.  The  grains  of  this  plant  grow  on 
separate  pedicles,  or  little  fruit-stalks,  springing  from  the  main  stalk.  The 
whole  head  forms  what  a  botanist  would  call  a  spiked  panicle;  that  is, 
something  between  a  spike  like  wheat,  and  a  panicle  like  oats.  The  grain 
is  sown  hi  rows,  hi  the  bottom  of  trenches.  These  ridges  lie  about  seven- 
teen niches  apart,  from  center  to  center.  The  rice  is  put  hi  by  the  hand, 
and  is  never  scattered,  but  cast  so  as  to  fall  in  a  line.  This  is  done  about 
the  17th  of  March.  By  means  of  flood-gates,  the  water  is  then  permitted  to 
flow  over  the  fields,  and  to  remain  on  the  ground  fivo  days,  at  the  depth  of 
several  niches.  The  object  of  this  drenching  is  to  sprout  the  seeds,  as  it  is 
technically  called.  The  water  is  next  drawn  off,  and  the  ground  allowed  to 
dry,  until  the  rice  is  risen  to  what  is  termed  four  leaves  high,  or  between 
three  and  four  inches.  This  requires  about  a  month.  The  fields  are  then 
again  overflowed,  and  they  remain  submerged  for  upwards  of  a  fortnight, 
to  destroy  the  grass  and  weeds.  These  processes  occupy  till  about  the  17th 
of  May,  after  which  the  ground  is  allowed  to  remain  dry  till  the  15th  of 
July,  during  which  interval  it  is  repeatedly  hoed,  to  remove  such  weeds  as 
have  not  been  effectually  drowned,  and  also  to  loosen  the  soil.  The  water 
is  then,  for  the  last  time,  introduced,  in  order  that  the  rice  may  be  brought 
to  maturity;  and  it  actually  ripens  while  standing  in  the  water.  The  har- 
vest commences  about  the  end  of  August,  and  extends  into  October.  After 
being  cut  the  rice  is  bound  up  into  bundles,  and  afterward  threshed  with 
a  flail.  The  next  process  is  to  detach  the  outer  husk,  which  clings  to  the 
gram  with  great  pertinacity.  This  is  done  by  passing  the  rice  between  a 
pair  of  millstones,  removed  to  a  considerable  distance  from  each  other. 
The  inner  pellicle,  or  film,  which  envelopes  the  grain,  is  removed  by  tritura- 
tion  in  mortars  under  pestles  weighing  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  pounds.  The  pestles  consist  of  upright  bars,  shod  with  iron, 
which  being  raised  up  by  the  machinery  to  the  height  of  several  feet,  are 
allowed  to  fall  upon  the  rice,  the  particles  of  which  are  thus  rubbed  against 
one  another  until  the  film  is  removed.  It  is  now  thoroughly  winnowed, 
and,  being  packed  in  casks  holding  about  six  hundred  pounds  each,  ia 
ready  for  market. 


314       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    VSEPVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  Tapioca  Plant. — The  tapioca  plant  is  a  native  of  Central  and 
South  America,  and  much  cultivated  there.  It  is  now  al3o  largely  grown  in 
Western  Africa,  where  it  is  called  cassava.  The  plant  grows  in  a  bushy 
form,  with  stems  usually  from  six  to  eight  feet  high.  The  roots  are  very 
large,  from  three  to  eight  growing  in  a  cluster,  usually  from  a  foot  to  two 
feet  long.  The  starch  in  the  roots  is  separated  from  the  fibre,  and  from  this 

starch  the  tapioca  of  com- 
merce is  made  by  heating 
it  on  hot  plates  and  stir- 
ring with  an  iron  rod;  the 
starch  grains  burst,  and 
the  whole  forms  into 
small,  irregular  masses, 
such  aa  we  find  in  the 
stores. 

Nutmegs.  — The 

spice  known  in  commerce 
under  this  name  is  the 
kernel  of  the  seed  of  My-, 
ristica  fragrans,  a  dice- 
c  i  o  u  s  evergreen  tree 
about  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
high,  found  wild  in  the 
Banda  Islands  and  the 
neighboring  country  ex- 
tending to  New  Guinea, 
but  not  to  The  Philip- 
pines. The  leaves  re- 
semble the  laurel;  the 
flowers  are  white,  two  or 
three  on  &  peduncle. 
The  nutmeg  proceeds 
from  a  reddish  knob  in 
the  center  of  the  flower, 
yet  not  more  than  one- 
third  ripen.  The  fruit  is 
the  size  of  an  apricot, 
pear-shaped.  When  ripe 
it  opens  and  displays  the 
nutmeg  in  a  black  and 
shining  shell,  inclosed  in 

THE  NTJTMEO.  a  network  ofscarletmace. 

The  shell  is  like  that  of 

A  filbert;  it  is  dried  with  care,  and  when  the  nutmeg  shakes  in  it  is  broken, 
and  the  nutmeg  soaked  in  sea-water  and  lime  to  preserve  it  from  insects. 
The  trees  yield  fruit  in  eight  years  after  sowing  the  seed,  reach  their  prime 
in  twenty-five  years  and  bear  for  sixty  years  or  longer.  The  tree  bears  all 
the  year  round,  but  the  chief  harvest  takes  place  in  the  later  months  of  the 
year,  and  a  smaller  one  in  April,  May,  and  June. 

Ginger.— This  is  the  root,  or  rather  the  underground  stem,  of  a  plant 
which  i»  a  native  of  the  East  Indies;  but  is  now  grown  in  many  other  trop- 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  315 

ical  countries.  The  stem  grows  two  or  three  feet  high,  and  is  reed  like;  the 
flowers  are  borne  on  a  separate  stalk,  of  a  dark  purple  color,  and  appear 
from  between  broad  scales.  Our  supply  comes  from  both  the  East  and 


THE  CLOVE  TEEE. 


West  Indies;  and  is  imported  in  the  root,  which  differs  much  in  appearance 
and  quality. 

Cloves. — Cloves  are  the  unopened  flowers  of  a  small  evergreen  tree  that 
resembles  in  appearance  the  laurel  or  the  bay.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Molucca 
or  Spice  Islands,  but  has  been  carried  to  all  the  warmer  parts  of  the  world, 
and  it  is  now  cultivated  in  the  tropical  regions  of  America.  The  flowers  are 
small  in  size,  and  grow  in  large  numbers,  in  clusters,  to  the  very  end  of  the 
branches.  The  cloves  we  use  are  the  flowers  gathered  before  they  are 


316       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

opened,  and  while  they  are  still  green.  After  being  gathered  they  are 
smoked  by  a  wood  fire,  and  then  dried  in  the  sun.  Each  clove  consists  of 
two  parts — of  a  round  head,  which  ia  the  four  petals,  or  leaves,  or  flowers 
rolled  up,  inclosing  a  number  of  small  stalks  or  filaments:  the  other  part  of 
the  clove  is  terminated  with  four  points,  and  is,  in  fact,  the  flower-cup  of 
the  unripe  seed-vessel.  All  these  parts  may  be  distinctly  seen  if  a  few 
cloves  are  soaked  for  a  short  time  in  hot  water,  when  the  leaves  of  the  flower 

soften,  and  readily 
unroll.  Both  the 
taste  and  the  smell 
of  cloves  depend  on 
the  quantity  of  oil 
they  contain.  Some- 
times the  oil  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  cloves 
before  they  are  sold, 
and  the  odor  and 
taste  are,  in  conse- 
quence, much  weak- 
ened. 

Cinnamon 

Cinnamon  is  the  bark 
of  a  small  tree,  the 
Uinnamonum  Zey- 
lanicum,  which,  as 
its  name  imports,  is 
a  native  of  Ceylon, 
and  chiefly  culti- 
vated there,  though 
it  is  raised  also  in 
Java.  The  tree  is 
very  graceful;  the 
leaves,  which  are  red 
in  spring,  become 
thick,  leathery,  and 
glossy-green  as  the 
summer  advances; 
they  are  netted  with 
raised  veins  on  the 
under  side,  and  are 
placed  opposite  each 
other  on  the  stem; 

the  flowers  are  greenish- white,  and  grow  in  small,  loose  clusters  at  the  ter- 
mination of  the  branches.  The  trees  require  a  rich,  light  soil,  and  also 
shade;  they  are,  therefore,  planted  in  open  glades  of  the  forest,  where  a  few 
large  timber  trees  remain  to  shelter  them;  this  greatly  contributes  to  the 
beauty  of  the  cinnamon  harvest,  when  the  natives  assemble  to  strip  the 
bark,  their  graceful  figures  and  bright-colored  clothing  forming  picturesque 
groups  in  the  forest  glades,  and  the  whole  air  being  loaded  with  the  scent 
of  the  spice.  Cinnamon  peeling  begins  in  May,  at  the  end  of  the  rains,  and 
lasts  till  November.  The  peeling  simply  consists  in  slitting  the  bark  and 
cutting  it  across,  so  as  to  turn  it  back;  it  is  then  soaked  to  remove  the  outer 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


317 


ALLSPICE. 


rind,  and  rolled  up  into  quilla  about  three  feet  long,  and  it  is  then  fit  for 
exportation.  Cinnamon  contains  volatile  oil,  tannin,  a  mucilage,  vegeto-ani- 
mal  coloring  matter,  an  acid  and  a  woody  fibre. 

Allspice. — Pimento,    or    Jamaica    pepper, 

otherwise  called  allspice,  is  a  small  berry,  the 

fruit  of  a  beautiful  tree,  about  thirty  feet  high, 

with  a  straight  trunk  much  branched  above  and 

covered  with   a  very  smooth,   gray  bark.    Its 

dense  and  ever-verdant  foliage  gives  it,  at  all 

times,  a  refreshing  appearance.   The  leaves  vary 

in  shape  and  size,  and  are  usually  about  four 

inches  long,  resembling  those  of  the  bay,  and  are 

of  a  dark,  shining  green.    The  tree  exhales  an 

aromatic  fragrance,  especially  during  the  months 

of  August  and  September,  when  the  trees  are  in 

full   bloom,   the  blossoms  consisting  of  small, 

white  flowers,  which  form  a  most  delightful  con- 
trast with  the  dark  green  leaves.  The  rich  per- 
fume which  is  ex- 
haled and  wafted 
by  the  gentlest 
breeze  makes  a 
plantation  of  the 
trees  one  of  the 

most  delightful  spots  imaginable.  The  ber- 
ries, as  they  reach  us,  are  of  different  sizes, 
usually  about  as  large  as  a  small  pea,  of  a 
brownish  color,  and  when  broken  present 
two  cells,  each  containing  a  black  seed. 
They  have  a  fragrant  odor,  thought  to  re- 
semble that  of  a  mixture  of  cinnamon,  cloves 
and  nutmegs;  hence  the  name  allspice,  by 
which  they  are  best  known  in  this  country. 
Pimento  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies  and 
South  America,  and  is  abundant  in  Jamaica, 
whence  it  received  its  name,  Jamaica  pepper. 
The  berries  are  gathered  after  having  at- 
tained their  full  size,  but  while  yet  green, 
and  are  carefully  dried  in  the  sun  and  put 
in  bags  and  casks  for  exportation. 

Pepper. — Pepper  is  the  fruit  of  a  climb- 
ing or  creeping  plant  called  Piper  nigrum, 
which  has  alternate  leaves,  jointed  stems, 
and  spikes  of  naked  flowers;  the  berry  is 
small,  round,  and  fleshy.  This  plant  grows 
abundantly  in  Sumatra,  Java,  Borneo,  and 

THE  ALMOND.  the  Malay  Peninsula.    The  pepper  vines,  as 

they  are  called,  are  trained  to  trees  and 

shrubs,  and  are  allowed  to  grow  four  years  without  gathering  the  crop;  this 
takes  place  while  the  berries  are  still  green,  betore  they  are  ripe,  and  they 
are  dried  quickly  on  mats  in  the  sun,  which  turns  them  black,  therefore  it 


318       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

is  called  black  popper;  -white  pepper  is  produced  by  soaking  the  berries  till 
the  outer  skin  peela  off  readily.  Long  pepper  is  the  fruit  of  the  Piper  Ion- 
gum,  also  a  native  of  the  East  Indies;  in  long  pepper  the  spike  and  half-ripe 
berries  are  all  dried  together,  which  makes  it  resemble  the  catkins  of  the 
birch;  the  flavor  is  like  that  of  black  pepper.  Cayenne  pepper  is  the  dried 
and  ground  fruit  of  the  Capsicum,  a  genus  of  plants  related  to  the  woody 


THE  COCOANUT  TREE. 

nightshade;  these  fruits  are  fleshy,  and  bright  scarlet  or  orange,  very  pun- 
gent, and  much  used  in  flavoring,  both  in  their  unprepared  state  and  ground. 

Almonds. — Almonds  come  from  Spain  and  Italy,  but  they  grow  spon- 
taneously in  many  other  warm  countries.  The  almond-tree,  Amygdalus 
communist,  greatly  resembles  the  peach  in  growth,  leaves  and  blossoms;  it 
flowers  in  the  early  spring,  and  produces  fruit  in  August.  The  fruit  is  cov- 
ered with  a  tough  skin,  and  is  enclosed  in  a  rough  shell.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  almonds,  the  sweet  and  the  bitter,  only  differing  from  each  other  iii 
the  flavor  of  the  nut.  Valentia  almonds  are  sweet  and  large;  Italian  not 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  319 

either  BO  large  or  sweet.  Jordan  almonds  come  from  Malaga;  they  are  long, 
and  not  very  pointed,  and  are  the  best  kind  imported;  the  bitter  almonds 
come  chiefly  from  Mogadore,  on  the  northern  coast  of  Africa. 

Cocoanuts. — Cocoanuts  are  the  fruit  of  the  Oocos  nucifera,  or  cocoanut 
palm,  a  lofty  and  elegant  palm-tree  which  grows  abundantly  in  most  trop- 
ical countries;  it  is  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  in  height,  its  simple  column-like 
stem  being  crowned  with  a  beautiful  plume  of  feathery  leaves  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  feet  long.  The  nuts  grow  in  several  long  clusters  depending 
from  the  base  of  the  leaves;  they  are  about  the  size  of  a  man's  head,  the 


THE  PINEAPPLE. 

thin  outer  rind  covering  a  large  mass  of  fibres,  which  are  used  in  many 
countries  for  the  making  of  mats,  cordage,  and  coarse  sail-cloth.  Within 
this  fibrous  coating  is  the  shell  of  the  nut,  which  is  oval  and  very  hard,  and 
often  serves  for  a  drinking  cup.  The  kernel  is  firm,  white,  and  pleasant; 
the  interior  hollow,  and  filled  with  sweet  milky  juice;  when  unripe,  it  is 
entirely  filled  with  this  juice.  The  cocoanut  palm  abounds  in  the  East  In- 
dies, throughout  the  tropical  islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  also  in  the  West 
Indies  and  South  America.  On  the  Malabar  and  Coromandel  coasts  of  In- 
dia immense  groves  may  be  seen.  In  Ceylon,  which  is  peculiarly  well  suited 
for  their  cultivation,  it  is  estimated  that  twenty  millions  of  these  trees  are 
growing.  Here  it  stands  at  the  head  of  all  trees  in  its  usefulness  to  man, 
every  particle  of  stem,  leaves  and  fruit  being  put  to  use,  and  the  Cingalese 
love  to  repeat  to  strangers  the  hundred  uses  to  which  they  apply  it.  The 


320       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

following  are  only  a  few  of  the  countless  uses  of  this  invaluable  tree:  Tk« 
leaves,  for  roofing,  for  mats,  for  baskets,  torches  or  chules,  fuel,  brooms, 
fodder  for  cattle,  manure.  The  stem  of  the  leaf,  for  fences,  for  pingoes  (or 
yokes)  for  carrying  burdens  on  the  shoulders,  for  fishing-rods,  and  innu- 
merable domestic  utensils.  The  cabbage,  or  cluster  of  unexpauded  leaves, 
for  pickles  and  preserves.  The  sap,  for  toddy,  for  distilling  arrack,  and  for 
making  vinegar  and  sugar.  The  unformed  nut,  for  medicine  and  sweet- 
meats. The  young  nut  and  its  milk,  for  drinking  for  dessert;  the  green  husk, 
for  preserves.  The  nut,  for  eating,  for  curry,  for  milk,  for  cooking.  The 
oil.,  for  rheumatism,  for  anointing  the  hair,  for  soap,  for  candles,  for  light; 
and  thepoonafc,  or  refuse  of  the  nut,  after  expressing  the  oil,  for  cattle  and 

poultry.  The  shell  of  the  nut,  for 
drinking-cups,  charcoal,  tooth- 
powder,  spoons,  medicine,  hook- 
ahs, beads,  bottles  and  knife- 
handles.  The  coir,  or  fibre  which 
envelopes  the  shell  within  the 
outer  husk,  for  mattresses,  cush- 
ions, ropes,  cables,  cordage,  can- 
vas, fishing-nets,  fuel,  brushes, 
oakum,  and  floor-mats.  The 
trunk,  for  rafters,  laths,  railing, 
boats,  troughs,  furniture,  fire- 
wood; and  when  very  young, 
the  first  shoots,  or  cabbage,  as  a 
vegetable  for  the  table. 

Pineapples. — The  pineap- 
ple has  a  number  of  long,  ser- 
rated, sharp-pointed,  rigid 
leaves,  springing  from  the  root, 
in  the  midst  of  which  a  short 
flower-stem  is  thrown  up,  bear- 
ing a  single  spike  of  flowers,  and 
therefore  a  single  fruit.  From 
the  summit  of  the  fruit  spring* 
a  crown  or  tuft  of  small  leaves, 

THE  BANANA  THEE,  capable  of  becoming  a  new  plant, 

and  very  generally  used  by  gar- 
deners for  planting.  The  pineapple  is  a  native  of  tropical  America;  it  is 
found  wild  in  sandy  maritime  districts  in  the  northeast  of  South  America, 
but  it  has  been  very  much  changed  by  cultivation.  It  has  also  been  gradu- 
ally diffused  over  tropical  and  subtropical  countries,  and  not  only  as  a  culti- 
vated plant,  for  it  is  fully  naturalized  in  many  parts  both  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
It  delights  in  a  moist  climate. 

Bananas.— This  much-prized  tropical  fruit  conies  chiefly  from  Central 
America  and  the  West  Indies.  There  are  many  varieties,  some  of  which 
grow  upon  large  trees,  but  the  majority  are  of  the  dwarf  species,  which  aro 
propagated  from  cuttings  and  renewed  every  year.  Nine  months  after  a 
cutting  has  been  planted  a  purple  bud  appears  in  the  center  of  the  unfold- 
ing leaves  that  shoot  out  from  the  head  of  the  parent  stem.  The  stem  on 
which  the  bud  appears  grows  rapidly  above  the  main  aiftllt.  As  the  bud  im- 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  32} 

creases  in  weight  the  stem  bends  downward  by  a  graceful  curre,  on  the  ex- 
tremity of  which  this  bud  continues  to  grow  till,  the  purple  blossoms  falling 
off,  little  shoots  appear  as  the  embryo  truit.  Each  fruit  has  a  yellow  blos- 
som at  its  outward  extremity.  At  the  end  of  from  three  to  four  months  the 
fruit  has  grown  to  maturity,  and  is  picked  long  enough  before  it  is  "  dead 
ripe  "  to  preserve  it  in  marketable  condition.  From  the  roots  of  the  parent 
stalk  other  shoots  appear,  which  are  trimmed  out  or  left  to  grow,  as  the  cul- 
tivator may  deem  best.  A  single  stalk,  therefore,  bears  only  one  bunch  or 
crop  as  itd  life  work.  In  regions  where  no  frost  ever  reaches,  bananas  are 
found  in  all  stages  of  growth,  ripening  their  fruit  every  month  and  every  day 
in  the  year.  An  estimate  by  Humboldt  claims  that  forty-four  thousand 
pounds  of  bananas  can 
bo  produced  on  the 
soil  that  would  be  re- 
quired for  one  thou- 
sand pounds  of  pota- 
toes, and  that  the  same 
area  that  would  be  re- 
quired to  raise  wheat 
enough  for  one  man, 
would  produce  enough 
bananas  to  feed  twenty- 
five  men. 

Dates.— The  date 
is  the  fruit  of  a  tall  and 
graceful  palm,  Fhwiix 
dactylifera,  which 
shoots  up  a  single 
straight  stem  to  the 
height  of  fifty  or  sixty 
feet,  and  then  expands 
into  a  beautiful  crown 
of  leaves.  It  is  abun- 
dant in  Barbary,  Ara- 
bia, Persia,  and  the  ad- 
jacent countries,  par- 
ticularly on  the  con- 
fines of  the  deserts  and 
in  the  oases.  The  fruit 
somewhat  resembles  a 

plum,  but  is  rather  longer  in  proportion;  it  contains  a  long  oblong  kernel, 
grooved  on  one  side.  The  pulp  is  soft,  sweet,  and  slightly  astringent;  it  is 
rich  in  sugar,  gum,  and  other  vegetable  matter,  affording  the  most  whole- 
some nutriment.  Dates  form  a  staple  article  of  food  to  the  inhabitants  o( 
many  countries  where  they  are  grown.  The  fruit,  when  gathered  quite 
ripe,  is  often  pressed  into  large  baskets,  and  thus  forms  a  hard,  solid  cake, 
called  "  adjoue,"  which  is  afterward  cut  up  and  sold  by  the  pound.  Date- 
stones  are  soaked  in  water  and  given  to  the  cattle. 

Raisins. — A  strip  of  land  bordering  ou  the  Mediterranean,  somewhat 
less  than  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  in  width  not  exceeding  five  oj 
six,  is  the  raisb»  producing  territory  of  Spain.  Beyond  these  boundaries  tb/ 


322       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

muscatel  grape,  from  which  the  raisin  is  principally  produced,  may  grow 
and  thrive  abundantly;  but  the  fruit  must  go  to  the  market  or  the  wine- 
press. When  the  grape  begins  to  ripen  in  August,  the  farmer  carefully  in- 
spects the  fruit  as  it  lays  on  the  warm,  dry  soil,  and  one  by  one  clips  the 
clusters  as  they  reach  perfection.  In  almost  all  vineyards  slants  of  masonry 
are  prepared,  looking  like  unglazed  hot-beds,  and  covered  with  fine  peb- 
bles, on  which  the  fruit  is  exposed  to  dry.  But  the  small  proprietor  pre- 
fers not  to  carry  his  grapes  so  far;  it  is  better,  he  thinks,  to  deposit  them 
nearer  at  hand,  where  there  is  less  danger  of  bruising,  and  where  the  bee» 
and  wasps  are  less  likely  to  find  them.  Day  by  day  the  cut  bunches  are  ex- 
amined and  turned,  till  they  are  sufficiently  cured  to  be  borne  to  the  house, 
usually  on  the  hill  top,  and  there  deposited  in  the  empty  wine-press  till 
enough  has  been  collected  for  the  trimmers  and  packers  to  begin  their  work. 

At  this  stage  great  piles  of  rough  dried 
raisins  are  brought  forth  from  the  wine- 
press and  heaped  upon  boards.  One 
by  one  the  bunches  are  carefully  in- 
spected, those  of  the  first  quality  being 
trimmed  of  all  irregularities  and  im- 
perfect berries,  and  deposited  in  pilea 
by  themselves.  So,  in  turn,  are  treated 
those  of  the  second  quality,  while  the 
clippings  and  inferior  fruit  are  received 
into  baskets  at  the  feet  of  the  trimmers, 
and  reserved  for  home  consumption.  A 
quantity  of  small  wooden  trays  are  now 
brought  forward,  just  the  size  of  a  com- 
mon raisin  box  and  about  an  inch  deep. 
In  these,  papers  are  neatly  laid,  so  as 
to  lap  over  and  cover  the  raisins  evenly 
deposited  in  the  trays,  which  are  then 
subjected  to  a  heavy  pressure  in  a  rude 
press.  After  pressing,  the  raisins  are 
dropped  into  the  boxes  for  market. 

Fig's. — The  fig  is  a  low,  deciduous 
tree    or    shrub,    with    large    deeply- 
THE  FIG.  lobed  leaves,  which  are  rough  above 

and  downy  beneath.    The  branches  are 

•lothed  with  short  hairs,  and  the  bark  is  greenish.  The  fruit  is  produced 
singly  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  is  pear-shaped,  and  has  a  very  short  stalk; 
the  color  in  some  varieties  is  bluish-black;  in  others,  red,  purple,  yellow, 
green,  or  white.  The  varieties  in  cultivation  are  numerous.  In  warm  cli- 
mates, the  fig  yields  two  crops  in  the  year — one  from  the  older  wood  (mid- 
summer shoots  of  the  preceding  year) ;  and  a  second  from  the  young  wood 
(spring  shoots  of  the  same  year),  but  in  colder  regions  the  latter  never 
comes  to  perfection.  Fig-trees  are  propagated  by  seed,  by  suckers,  etc. ; 
very  frequently  by  layers  or  by  cuttings.  They  are  successfully  grown  in 
warm  climates  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world.  For  exportation  figs  are 
dried  either  in  the  sun  or  in  ovens  built  for  the  purpose. 

Prunes.— Prunes  are  made  and  not  grown.    Plums  are  grown,  and 
some  sorts  of  them,  when  treated  in  a  certain  way,  become  the  prunes  of 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


383 


THE  ORANGE. 


commerce.    It  is  not  every  plum  that  can  be  dried  into  a  prune,  as  many 

are  inclined  to  think.  Prunes  are  produced  in  the  various  countries  of  Con- 
tinental Europe,  France,  Spain,  Germany, 

and  Turkey  taking  the  lead.    The  plums 

that  are  suited  for  prunes  form  a  distinct 

group,  the  most  noted  variety  being  the  St. 

Catherine.    The  plums  that  are  to  be  made 

into  prunes  are  left  on  the  trees  until  they 

are  fully  ripe;  in  fact,  until  they  drop  of 

their  own  weight.    To  prevent  injury  by  the 

fall  the  ground  beneath  the  trees  is  either 

made  soft  by  working  it  with  the  plow  and 

harrow,  or  is  covered  with  straw.      The 

fallen  fruit  is  picked  up  each  day,  or  every 

alternate  day,  washed,  if  soiled,  and  then 

spread  out  separately  on  frames  of  wicker- 
work,  where  it  is  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the 

sun.    Later  on  in  the  drying,  the  plums 

are  put  in  ovens  similar  to  the  baker's  oven, 

when  they  are  subjected-  to  a  heat  of  about 

170  degrees   Fahrenheit.      At  the  end  of 

twenty-four  hours  the  fruit  is  removed  from 

the  oven,  and  when  cold  is  turned  upon  the 

trays.    The  oven  is  heated  again,  in  the 

meantime,  to  about  220  degrees,  and  the 

fruit  placed  in  again,  when  it  remains  another  day.    After  another  cooling 

and  turning  the  oven  is  heated  to  258  degrees  and  a  third  drying  given, 

ivhich  usually  completes  the  process.    The  drying  is  known  to  be  properly 

done  if  there  is  a  certain  elasticity  to  prunes  when  pressed  with  the  fingers. 
The  object  of  all  the  different  parts  of  the  pro- 
cess of  drying  is  to  dry  the  fruit  as  far  as  pos- 
sible without  breaking  the  skin,  which,  in  the 
well-dried  prune,  should  shine  as  if  it  had  been 
given  a  coat  of  varnish. 

Oranges. — The  orange-tree  grows  abun- 
dantly in  almost  all  the  warm  soft  climates  of 
southern  Europe,  northern  Africa,  and  many 
temperate  parts  of  Asia  and  America.  Those 
consumed  in  the  Northern  States  are  brought 
from  the  islands  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  South- 
ern States.  St.  Michael,  one  of  the  Azores,  ia 
famed  for  producing  the  most  favored  variety. 
The  orange  gardens  are  encompassed  by  high 
walls,  not  only  to  protect  the  trees  from  plun- 
derers, but  from  high  winds,  which  often  do 
serious  damage.  The  orange  trees  are  usually 
branched  almost,  if  not  quite,  from  the  ground; 
their  leaves  are  evergreen,  and  their  flowers 
white  and  very  elegant;  they  yield  a  delicious 
perfume.  On  many  trees  the  flowers  and  ripe  fruit  hang  together;  and, 
when  thus  loaded — the  fruit,  some  of  light-green  color,  others  of  pale  yellow, 
Others  of  a  deep  orange,  and  all  set  off  by  the  deep  glossy-green  foliage— th« 


THE    LEMON. 


324       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

trees  are  superb.  The  fruit  is  gathered  in  December,  or  even  earlier,  a  lit- 
tle while  before  it  is  ripe;  and  large  baskets  being  filled  by  boys  who  take 
them  from  the  gatherers,  they  are  carried  away  at  once  to  the  packers,  who 
most  commonly  sit  in  groups  on  the  grass;  the  oranges  are  poured  out  in  a 
heap  with  as  little  concern  as  if  they  were  coals;  each  orange  is  wrapped  in 
a  husk  of  Indian  corn;  these  are  prepared  by  children,  who  hand  them  to 
a  man,  who  wraps  up  the  orange  and  passes  it  to  another,  who  places  it  in 
the  chest;  this  ia  all  dono  with  amazing  rapidity.  The  box  is  filled,  thin 

boards  are  bent  over  it 
by  a  carpenter,  and 
secured  with  willow 
bands,  and  then  it  ia 
ready  to  be  carried  to 
the  port  and  shipped. 

Lemons.  —  The 
lemon  is  a  tree  which 
has  by  many  botanists 
been  regarded  as  a  va- 
riety of  the  citron,  and, 
like  it,  a  native  of  the 
north  of  India.  Its 
leaves  are  ovate  or  ob- 
long, usually  serru- 
late, pale  green,  with 
winged  stalk;  the 
flowers  are  streaked 
and  reddishou  the  out- 
side; the  fruit  is  ob- 
long, wrinkled  or  fur- 
rowed, pale  yellow, 
with  generally  concave 
oil-cysts  in  the  rind. 
In  the  common  variety, 
which  is  very  exten- 
sively cultivated  in 
many  tropical  and  sub- 
tropical countries,  the 
pulp  of  the  fruit  is  very 
acid,  abounding  in  cit- 
ric acid.  There  ie, 

however,  a  variety  called  the  sweet  lemon  occasionally  cultivated  in  the 

South  of  Europe,  of  which  the  juice  is  sweet. 

The  Olive  Tree.— The  olive  tree,  Olea  Europa,  grows  abundantly  in 
all  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It  thrives  upon  the 
most  rocky  calcareous  soils,  seldom  exceeds  twenty  feet  in  height,  but  is 
much  branched  and  spreading;  it  lives  to  a  great  age,  and  increases  very 
much  in  bulk,  so  that  one  tree  may  easily,  at  a  little  distance,  be  mistaken 
for  a  group.  There  is  an  olive  tree  at  Pescio  seven  hundred  years  old,  and 
twenty-five  feet  in  circumference.  The  trees  also  grow  abundantly  in  Judea, 
and  there  are  some  still  standing  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  which  are 
i  so  large  and  old  that  they  are  thought  to  have  been  in  existence  ever  since 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  325 

the  time  of  our  Saviour.  Josephns  tells  us  that  when  Titus  destroyed  Jeru- 
salem, he  cut  down  all  the  trees  within  one  hundred  furlongs  of  the  city; 
still  it  is  very  probable  that  these  trees  may  have  grown  up  from  the  roots 
of  the  old  ones,  because  it  is  quite  a  characteristic  of  the  olhe-tree  to  shoot 
up  again,  however  frequently  it  may  be  cut  down.  They  are  wild  olives  of 
extreme  old  age,  and  their  stems  quite  rough  and  gnarled.  The  leaves  of 
the  tree  are  evergreen,  stiffish  and  pointed;  the  flowers  white,  growing  in 
clusters,  succeeded  by  an  oval  drupe,  or  plum,  which  is  violet-colored  when 
ripe,  bitter  and  nauseous.  The  preserved  olives,  common  as  a  table  luxury, 
are  the  unripe  fruit  pickled  in  a  strong  solution  of  salt.  Salad  oil  is  made 
from  olives.  The  ripe  fruit  is  gathered  in  November,  and  bruised  in  a  mill, 
the  stones  of  which  are  set  so  wide  apart  as  not  to  bruise  the  nut  or  kernel; 
the  pulp  is  then  gently  pressed  in  bags  made  of  rushes;  the  first  oil  that 
flows  is  of  the  most  value,  a  second  quality  is  obtained  by  breaking  the 
refuse,  mixing  it  with  warm  water,  and  returning  it  to  the  press;  and  after 
this  a  third  very  inferior  kind  is  obtained. 

Limes. — The  little  island  of  Montserrat,  one  of  the  most  charming  and 
salubrious  of  the  British  West  Indian  Colonies,  with  an  area  of  but  forty- 
seven  square  miles,  or  considerably  less  than  that  of  London,  contains  the 
most  extensive  and  best  cultivated  plantations  of  the  lime-fruit  tree  in  the 
world.  The  cultivation  of  the  plant,  which  involves  a  large  outlay  of  capi- 
tal, with  no  immediate  return,  was  not  at  first  attended  with  any  commer- 
cial success,  but  the  Montserrat  Company  now  owns  six  hundred  acres  of 
land,  bearing  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  trees,  from  which  a  crop  is 
gathered  nearly  all  the  year  round,  the  heaviest  harvest  extending  for  three 
months,  from  September  to  January.  The  appearance  of  the  trees — with 
their  dark-green  leaves  growing  thick  and  bushy,  and  relieved  at  one  and 
the  same  time  by  the  bright  fruit  in  different  stages  of  ripeness,  from  green 
to  a  rich,  ruddy  yellow,  and  by  the  fragrant  white  flowers,  resembling  orange 
blossoms — is  one  of  extreme  beauty,  and  a  lime-tree  orchard  is  perhaps  un- 
equaled  by  any  other  similar  plantation.  The  very  leaves  of  the  tree  emit  a 
delicious  perfume,  and  are  largely  used  in  the  West  Indies  for  the  purpose 
of  scenting  water  for  toilet  and  other  purposes.  The  trees  do  not  bear  fruit 
till  they  are  seven  years  old,  and  during  that  period  they  require  careful 
attention  and  pruning;  they  are  otherwise  easy  of  cultivation,  flourishing 
best  in  light  soils  near  the  sea.  The  production  of  fruit  is  very  large;  and 
the  process  of  extracting  the  juice  is  easy,  the  fruit  being  simply  sliced  and 
pressed,  and  the  juice  at  once  placed  in  casks  ready  for  exportation.  A  sec- 
ondary product  is  citric  acid,  which  is  procured  from  the  inferior  fruit,  and 
by  a  subsequent  manipulation  of  the  refuse  from  the  first  process  of 
squeezing. 

The  Jak  Tree — The  bread-fruit  tree,  originally  found  in  the  south- 
eastern parts  of  Asia  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  though  now  introduced 
into  the  tropical  parts  of  the  western  continent  and  the  West  Indies,  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  as  well  as  singular  productions  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom. There  are  two  species  of  it — the  bread-fruit,  properly  so  called,  with 
the  leaves  deeply  gashed,  or  divided  at  the  sides,  which  grows  chiefly  in  the 
islands,  and  the  jack-fruit,  or  jak  tree,  which  grows  chiefly  in  the  main  land 
of  Asia. 

Ihe  bread-fruit  is  a  beautifu!  as  well  as  a  uieful  tree;  the  trunk  rises  to 
ft  height  of  about  forty  teet,  and  in  a  ^ill-sjrowu  tree  is  from  a  foot  to  fifteen 


SH      CYCLOPAEDIA    Of    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 


THE  JAK  TREE. 


inches  in  diameter;  the  bark  is  aeh-colored,  full  of  little  chinks,  and  c»Tcred 
by  small  knobs;  the  inner  bark  is  fibrous,  and  use*  in  the  manufacture  of 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


827 


a  sort  of  cloth;  and  the  wood  ia  smooth,  soft,  and  of  a  yellow  color;  the 
branches  come  out  in  a  horizontal  manner,  the  lowest  ones  about  ten  or 
twelve  feet  from  the  ground,  and  they  become  shorter  and  shorter  as  they 
are  nearer  the  top.  The  leaves  are  divided  into  seven  or  nine  lobes,  about 
eighteen  inches  or  tw.o  feet  long,  and  are  of  a  lurid  green.  The  tree  bears 
male  and  female  flowers — the  males  among  the  upper  leaves,  and  the 
females  at  the  extremities  of  the  twigs.  When  full-grown,  the  fruit  ia  about 
nine  inches 
long,  heart- 
shaped,  of  a 
greenish  color, 
and  marked 
with  hexagonal 
warts,  formed 
into  facets.  The 
pulp  is  white, 
partly  farina- 
ceous and  part- 
ly fibrous;  but 
when  quite  ripe 
it  becomes  yel- 
low and  juicy. 
The  whole 
tree,  when  hi  a 
green-  state, 
abounds  with  a 


viscid,  milky 
juice,  of  so 
tenacious  a  na- 
ture as  to  be 
drawn  out  in 
threads. 

The  bread- 
fruit tree  con- 
tinues produc- 
tive for  about 
eight  months  hi 
the  year.  Such 
is  its  abund- 
ance that  two 
or  three  trees 
will  suffice  for 
a  man's  yearly 
supply,  a  store 
being  made  in- 
to a  sour  paste 

called  make  in  islands,  which  is  eaten  during  the  unproductive  season. 
When  the  fruit  is  roasted  until  the  outside  is  charred,  the  pulp  has  a  con- 
sistency not  unlike  that  of  wheaten  bread,  and  the  taste  is  intermediate  be- 
tween that  of  bread  and  roasted  chestnuts.  It  is  said  to  be  very  nourishing, 
and  is  prepared  in  various  ways.  The  jak,  or  jack,  grows  to  the  same  or 
even  to  a  larger  size  than  the  bread-frui*  of  the  Society  Islands,  but  it  ia 
neither  BO  palatable  nor  so  nutritious.  The  fruit  often  weighs  more  than 


TWINING  HYACINTH  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


328       CYCL  VPJED1A    Of    UKEfUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

thirty  pounds,  and  contains  two  or  three  hundred  seeds,  each  of  them  four 
timea  as  large  as  an  almond.  December  is  the  time  when  the  fruit  ripens; 
it  is  then  eaten,  and  the  seeds  or  nuts  also  are  eaten,  after  being  roasted. 
There  are  many  varieties  of  the  jak  tree,  some  of  which  can  hardly  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  seedling  variety  of  the  true  bread-fruit.  The  fruit,  and 
also  the  part  of  the  tree  in  which  it  is  produced,  vary  with  the  age.  When 
the  tree  is  young,  the  fruit  grows  from  the  twigs;  in  middle  age  it  grows 
from  the  trunk,  and  when  the  tree  gets  old  it  grows  from  the  roots. 

Twining  Hyacinth  of  California.— Our  engraving  represents  a 
wonderfully  singular  and  beautiful  plant,  which  grows  among  the  moun- 

tainsof  California. 
It  twines  iteelf  in- 
to and  around 
every  bush  o  r 
shrub  within  its 
reach,  and  does 
not  stop  climbing 
till  its  slender 
stem  has  reached 
the  top  of  its  sup- 
port, even  if  it 
should  be  ten  feet 
high.  When  it  has 
gamed  the  top,  it 
seems  to  rest  for 
a  while  as  if  to 
look  about  it  and 
feel  sure  o  f  its 
position,  then  lets 
go  its  hold  upon 
the  earth,  and 
without  any  con- 
nection with  the 
ground,  or  any 
sustenance  from 
it,  goes  on  bloom- 
ing and  ripening 
its  seed,  month 
after  month,  no 
more  affected  ap- 
parently, by  the 

scorching  heat  of  the  sun  by  day,  nor  the  chill  of  the  mountain  air  by  night, 
than  if  it  had  an  anchoring  root  like  an  oak  tree.  The  leaves  are  long  and 
narrow,  resembling  blades  of  grass;  the  flowers  are  a  fine  pink,  or  deep 
rose  color,  and  as  you  may  judge  from  the  picture,  very  beautiful.  This 
strange  plant  blooms  constantly  from  May  to  September. 

The  Bigf  Trees  of  California.— The  mammoth  evergreen  and  red- 
wood trees  of  California  have  a  world-wide  notoriety.  They  are  found  in 
small  groves  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  at  a  height  of  four  thousand 
five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level.  In  Calaveras  County  there  is  a  grove 
of  one  hundred  and  three  trees,  each  of  which  measures  from  seventy  to 


THE  BIG  TEEES  OF  CALTFOENIA. 


•inety-three  feet  iu  circumference.  The  grove  in  Mariposa  County  contains 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  trees  of  over  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  many  of 
them  being  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  feet,  and  nearly  three  hundred 
smaller  ones.  The  Tulare-Fresno  forest,  which  is  seventy  miles  long  and 
about  ten  miles  wide,  consists  mainly  of  these  mammoth  trees.  On  one 
occasion  ten  men  on  horseback  attempted  to  form  a  circle  around  one  of 
them.  Each  horse  stood  with  his  head  close  to  the  tail  of  the  one  before 
him,  yet  they  reached  but  halfway  round  the  tree.  The  height  of  the 
largest  trees  is  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  feet,  and  some  of  those 
that  have  been  felled  indicate  an  age  of  from  two  thousand  to  three  thou- 
sand years. 

The  Ivory  Plant.— So  different  are  the  products  of  the  animal  from 
those  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  that  even  the  most  careless  observer  may 
be  expected  at  once  to  distinguish  them.  Yet  multitudes  are  in  the  daily 
use  of  ivory  buttons,  boxes  and  small  ornaments,  who  never  doubt  that 
they  are  made  from  the  tusks  of  the  elephant,  while  they  are  really  the  pro- 
duct of  a  plant.  The  ivory  plant  is  a  native  of  the  northern  regions  of  South 
America,  extending  northward  just  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  large 
groves  of  it  having  been  recently  discovered  in  the  province  of  that  name. 
It  is  found  in  extensive  groves— in  which  it  banishes  all  other  vegetation 
from  the  soil  it  has  taken  possession  of— or  scattered  among  the  large  trees  of 
the  virgin  forests.  It  has  the  appearance  of  a  stemless  palm,  and  consists  of 
a  graceful  crown  of  leaves,  twenty  feet  long,  of  a  delicate  pale  green  color, 
and  divided  like  the  plume  of  a  feather  into  from  thirty  to  fifty  pairs  of  long 
narrow  leaflets.  It  is  not,  however,  really  stemless,  but  the  weight  of  the 
foliage  and  the  fruit  is  too  much  for  the  comparatively  slender  trunk,  and 
consequently  pulls  it  down  to  the  ground,  where  it  is  seen  like  a  large  ex- 
posed root,  stretching  for  a  length  of  nearly  twenty  feet  in  the  old  plants. 
The  long  leaves  are  employed  by  the  Indians  to  cover  the  roofs  of  their 
cottages. 

Each  flower  of  the  ivory  plant  does  not  contain  stamens  and  pistils,  as  in 
most  of  the  British  plants,  but  like  our  willows,  one  tree  produces  only 
staminal  flowers,  while  another  has  only  pistillate  ones.  Such  plants  are 
said  by  botanists  to  be  dioecious.  Both  kinds  of  the  plants  of  the  vegetable 
ivory  have  the  same  general  appearance,  and  differ  only  in  the  form  and  ar- 
rangement of  the  flowers.  In  the  one  kind  an  innumerable  quantity  of 
staminal  flowers  is  born  on  a  cylindrical  fleshy  axis,  four  feet  long,  while 
in  the  other  a  few  pistillate  flowers  spring  from  the  end  of  the  flower-stalk. 
Each  plant  bears  several  heads  of  flowers.  Purdie,  who  visited  the  plants 
in  their  native  locality  in  1846,  says:  "The  fragrance  of  the  flowers  is  most 
powerful,  and  delicious  beyond  that  of  any  other  plant,  and  so  diffuse,  that 
the  air  for  many  yards  around  was  alive  with  myriads  of  annoying  insects, 
which  first  attracted  my  notice.  I  had  afterwards  to  carry  the  flowers  in  my 
hands  for  twelve  miles,  and  though  I  killed  a  number  of  insects  that  fol- 
lowed me,  the  next  day  a  great  many  still  hovered  about  them,  which  had 
come  along  with  us  from  the  wood  where  the  plant  grew.  The  group  of 
pistillate  flowers  produce  a  large  roundish  fruit,  from  eight  to  twelve  inches 
in  diameter,  and  weighing  when  ripe  about  twenty-five  pounds.  It  is 
covered  by  a  hard  woody  coat,  everywhere  embossed  with  conical  angular 
tubercles,  and  is  composed  of  six  or  seven  portions,  each  containing  from  six 
to  nine  seeds.  These  seeds,  when  ripe,  are  pure  white,  free  from  veins,  dote, 
or  vessels  of  any  kind,  presenting  a  perfect  uniformity  of  texture  surpassing 


830      CYCLOPAEDIA    Of    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  finest  animal  ivory;  and  its  substance  is  throughout  so  hard  that  the 
slightest  streaks  from  the  turning-lathe  are  observable.  Indeed,  it  looks 
much  move  like  an  animal  than  a  vegetable  product;  but  a  close  comparison 
will  enable  one  to  distinguish  it  from  the  ivory  of  the  elephant  by  its  bright- 
ness and  its  fatty  appearance,  but  chiefly  by  its  minute  cellular  structure. 
This  curious  hard  material  is  the  store  of  food  laid  up  by  the  plant  for  the 
nourishment  of  the  embryo,  or  young  plant  contained  in  the  seed.  It  cor- 
responds to  the  white  of  an  egg  of  the  hen,  and  has  been  consequently  called 
the  albumen  of  the  seed.  In  its  early  condition  this  ivory  exists  as  a  clear 


THK   IVOilY  PUkXT. 

insipid  fluid,  Tfith  which  travelers  allay  their  thirst;  afterwards  the  liquor  be- 
comes sweet  and  milky,  and  in  this  state  it  is  greedily  devoured  by  bears, 
hogs  and  turkeys;  it  then  gradually  becomes  hard.  It  is  very  curious  that 
this  hard  mass  again  returns  to  its  former  soft  state  in  the  process  of  germi- 
nation. The  young  plant  for  some  time  is  dependent  upon  it  for  its  food, 
and  if  the  seed  be  taken  out  of  the  ground  after  the  plant  has  appeared,  it 
•will  be  found  to  be  filled  with  a  substance  half  pulp  and  half  milk,  on  which 
the  plant  lives  until  it  is  old  enough  to  obtain  its  food  on  its  own  account. 
From  the  small  eiae  of  the  seed,  the  largest  not  being  more  than  two 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FKUITS,    ETC.  831 

inches  across  its  greatest  diameter,  the  vegetable  ivory  can  be  employed  in 
the  manufacture  of  only  small  articles,  such  as  beads,  buttons,  toys,  etc. 
What  is  wanting  in  size  is,  however,  often  made  up  by  the  skill  and  in- 
genuity of  the  workmen,  who  join  together  several  pieces  so  as  to  make  a 


THE  BETEL  NOT  THEE. 


long  object,  when  it  is  easy  to  hide  the  joints  from  view,  or  make  a  lid  from 
one  seed,  and  the  box  from  another. 

The  Betel-Nut  Tree.— The  betel-nut  tree  is  one  of  the  moat  graceful 
of  the  palm  tribe.    It  is  a  native  of  all  the  countries  of  Asia  within  tho 


832      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

tropics,  and  is  cultivated  all  over  India  for  the  sake  of  the  nut,  which  is  in 
high  esteem.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet,  begins  to  bear  fruit 
at  five  years,  and  continues  in  bearing  for  sixty  or  seventy  years;  but  when 
it  has  been  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  in  perfection  it  begins  to  decay.  The 
tree  is  in  flower  most  of  the  year.  The  nut  is  about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg, 
enclosed  in  a  membraneous  covering,  and  of  a  reddish  yellow  when  ripe. 
There  are  two  crops  in  the  year.  The  quantity  of  nuts  yielded  by  a  single 
tree  varies  considerably  in  different  places;  on  the  Coromandel  coast  the 
average  number  of  nuts  obtained  from  a  single  tree  is  usually  about  three 
hundred.  The  betel-nut  is  dried,  cut  into  slices,  usually  four;  these  slices 
are  wrapped  up  in  the  leaf  of  the  black  pepper  vine  and  sprinkled  with 
quicklime.  Thus  prepared,  it  is  chewed,  and  is  enjoyed  by  the  people  as  a 
universal  luxury. 

The  Cow  Tree.— Alexander  Humboldt  remarks  that  among  the  many 
very  wonderful  natural  phenomena  which  he  had  during  his  r  extensive 
travels  witnessed,  none  impressed  him  in  a  more  remarkable  degree  than 
the  sight  of  a  tree  yielding  an  abundant  supply  of  milk,  the  properties  of 
which  seemed  to  be  the  same  as  the  milk  of  a  cow.  The  adult  Indians 
would  go  each  morning  with  their  slaves  from  the  village  or  station  on  the 
slope  of  the  mountain  chain  bordering  on  Venezuela,  where  Humboldt  was 
stopping,  to  a  forest  where  they  grew,  and  making  some  deep  incisions  into 
the  trees,  in  less  than  two  hours  their  vessels,  placed  under  these  incisions, 
would  be  full.  All  present  would  then  partake  of  the  milk,  on  which  the 
slaves  grew  fat,  and  a  quantity  would  be  carried  home  to  be  given  to  the 
children  and  to  be  mixed  with  cassava  and  maize.  The  tree  itself  attains  a 
height  of  from  forty-five  to  sixty  feet,  has  long  alternate  leaves,  and  was 
described  by  Linden  as  Brosimum  galactodendron.  The  milk  which  flows 
from  any  wound  made  in  the  trunk  is  white  and  somewhat  viscid;  the  flavor 
is  very  agreeable.  An  analysis  of  the  substance  made  several  years  ago 
by  M.  Boussingault,  a  French  chemist,  shows  that  this  vegetable  milk 
most  certainly  approaches  in  its  composition  to  the  milk  of  the  cow;  it  con- 
tains not  only  fatty  matter,  but  also  sugar,  caseine  and  phosphates.  But 
the  relative  proportion  of  these  substances  is  greatly  in  4favor  of  the  vege- 
table milk,  and  brings  it  up  to  the  richness  of  cream,  the  amount  of  butter 
in  crrtun  being  about  the  same  proportion  as  the  peculiar  waxy  material 
found  in  the  vegetable  milk,  a  fact  that  will  readily  account  for  its  great 
nutritive  powers. 

Th«  Soap  Plant. — A  species  of  cacti  called  Amole  is  found  in  various 
parts  of  the  American  continent  from  Mount  Shasta  on  the  north  to  a  simi- 
lar latitude  in  South  America,  and  from  the  Pacific  Coast  to  east  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  through  New  Mexico  and  Western  Texas.  The  flower  stalks  are 
destitute  of  leaves,  but  are  plentifully  supplied  with  branches  about  eighteen 
inches  long,  from  which  flowers  of  white  and  yellow  color  are  suspended  in 
the  flowering  season.  The  bulbous  root  is  from  one  to  six  inches  hi  diame- 
ter and  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  long.  A  saponaceous  juice  is  pressed 
from  the  root,  and  the  fibre  of  the  leaves  is  heckled  for  the  manufacture  ol 
mattresses,  cushions,  and  chair  seats.  The  vegetable  soap  extracted  from 
the  root  has  been  used  by  the  Indians,  Mexicans,  and  others  for  many  years 
as  a  hair  wash,  and  exceeds  in  purity  our  manufacture  from  animal  sub- 
stancca.  The  preservative  qualities  of  the  aoap  are  veil  known,  and  its  use 
jives  the  hair  a  fine  natural  glow,  and  prevent*  decay. 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


333 


The  Talipat  Palm  Tree. — The  Talipat  or  Great  Fan  Palm  is  the 
noblest  palm  of  the  East  Indies,  a  native  of  Ceylon,  Malabar,  etc.    It  grows 


THE  TALIPAT  PALM  TBEE. 


to  the  height  of  sixty,  seventy,  or  even  one  hundred  feet,  and  has  a  straight 
cylindrical  trunk,  crowned  with  a  tuft  of  enormous  palmate  plaited  leaves, 
which  are  divided  near  the  outer  margin  into  numerous  segments,  and  are. 


334       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

united  to  the  trunk  by  spiny  leaf-stalks.  The  leaves  are  usually  about 
eighteen  feet  long,  exclusive  of  the  leal-stalk,  and  fourteen  feet  broad;  a 
single  one  being  sufficient  to  protect  fifteen  to  twenty  men  from  rain.  At 
the  age  of  thirty  or  forty  years,  the  tree  flowers,  and  after  ripening  fruit, 
generally  dies.  It  produces  a  long  conical  erect  spadix,  rising  to  the  height 
of  thirty  feet  from  the  midst  of  its  crown  of  leaves,  and  dividing  into  simple 
alternate  branches,  the  lower  of  which  sometimes  extend  laterally  twenty 
feet,  the  whole  covered  with  whitish  flowers,  and  forming  a  very  beautiful 
and  magnificent  object.  The  fruit  is  very  abundant,  globose,  and  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  diameter.  The  leaves  are  used  for  covering  houses,  for 
making  tents,  and  for  many  other  purposes.  On  occasions  of  ceremony, 
every  Cingalese  noble  is  followed  by  an  attendant,  who  carries  above  his 
head  a  richly  ornamented  palm  leaf,  which  is  capable  of  being  folded  up 
like  a  fan,  and  is  then  not  thicker  than  a  man's  arm,  and  wonderfully  light. 
The  leaves  of  this  palm  are  used  in  Malabar  for  writing  upon,  characters 
being  traced  upon  them  with  an  iron  style.  They  are  prepared  for  this  pur- 
pose by  boiling,  drying,  damping,  rubbing,  and  pressing.  The  soft  central 
part  of  the  stem,  pounded  and  made  into  bread,  has  often  been  of  great  use 
in  times  of  scarcity. 

The  Bamboo.— This  is  a  genus  of  grasses,  of  which  most  of  the  species 
attain  a  great  size,  many  of  them  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  some  seventy  or  one 
hundred  feet  in  height.  The  species  are  numerous,  and  are  found  in  tropi- 
cal and  subtropical  regions,  both  of  the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres. 
They  are  of  great  importance  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  countries  in  which 
they  grow.  All  of  them  have  a  jointed  subterranean  root-stock  which 
throws  up  stems  from  ten  to  one  hundred  feet  high.  These  are  generally 
straight  and  erect;  although  one  large  species  (B.  agrestis),  common  in  dry 
mountainous  situations  in  the  south-east  of  Asia,  has  crooked,  and  some- 
times creeping  stems.  The  stems  grow  to  their  full  height  unbranched,  but 
afterwards  throw  out  straight  horizontal  branchfis,  especially  in  their  upper 
parts,  forming  a  dense  thicket.  Some  of  the  smaller  kinds  are  often  planted 
as  hedges.  The  stems  are  jointed  like  those  of  other  grasses,  very  hard,  but 
light  and  elastic,  hollow,  containing  only  a  light  spongy  pith,  except  at  the 
joints  or  nodes,  where  they  are  divided  by  strong  partitions.  They  are, 
therefore,  readily  converted  into  water-vessels  of  various  sorts;  and  when 
the  partitions  are  removed,  they  are  used  as  pipes  for  conveying  water. 
They  are  also  much  employed  for  house-building,  for  bridges,  etc.  The 
smaller  stems  are  converted  into  walking-sticks,  and  are  exported  under 
the  name  of  bamboo  cane.  In  China,  the  interior  portions  of  the  stem  are 
used  for  making  paper.  The  stems  of  different  species  vary  very  much  in 
the  thickness  of  the  woody  part,  and  so  in  their  adaptation  to  different  pur- 
poses. The  external  covering  of  the  stem  is,  in  all  the  species,  remark- 
ably silicious;  the  stem  of  B.  tabacaria  is  so  hard  that  it  strikes  fire  when 
the  hatchet  is  applied.  This  species  is  a  native  of  Amboyna  and  Java;  its 
slender  stems  are  polished,  and  used  for  the  stalks  of  tobacco-pipes.  The 
leaves  of  some  kinds  are  used  for  thatch,  and  the  Chinese  plait  hats  of  them; 
of  the  external  membrane  of  the  stems  of  some,  they  make  paper.  From 
the  knots  of  the  bamboo  there  exudes  a  saccharine  juice,  which  dries 
upon  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  and  which  the  Greeks  call  Indian 
Honey.  The  young  shoots  of  some  kinds  of  bamboo  are  eaten  like  as- 
paragus, or  are  pickled  in  vinegar.  Those  of  B.  Ttilda,  a  common  Beu- 
galese  species,  are  used  for  these  purposes  wben  about  two  feet 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  335 

long.  The  seeds  of  some  species  are  used  as  rice,  and  for  making  a  kind 
of  beer.  Bamboos  are  generally  of  very  rapid  growth,  and  they  are  often 
found  in  arid  situations,  which  would  otherwise  be  destitute  of  vege- 
tation. 

The  Star  Fish  Cactus.— All  plants  of  the  cactus  kind  are  so  wouder- 


THE  BAMBOO. 


fully  made  that  they  are  able  to  bear  the  heat  and  dryness  of  very  hot  cli- 
mates without  showing  any  evil  effects.  They  draw  in  the  heavy  dews  that 
fall  at  night,  literally  drink  them  ia,  and  then,  when  the  heat  of  the  day 
cornea  on,  this  moisture  supports  the  p/ant,  and  givee  it  health  and  strength. 


336      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 
Flowers  often  grow  out  of  the  cacti  in  a  very  unexpected  fashion  and  of  very 


THE  STAB  FISH  CACTUS. 


curious  forms.    We  give  an  illustration  of  a  variety,  whose  flower  very 
much  resembles  a  starch,, 


TREES,    1'LANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


337 


A  Peruvian  Forest. — Peru  is  exceedingly  rich  in  vegetable  produc- 
tion, and  each  of  its  natural  regions  has  its  own  flora.  The  coast  district 
has  not  many  plants,  but  east  of  the  Andes  the  species  are  exceedingly 
numerous.  Mauy  species  of  medicinal  Lerbs,  and  a  great  variety  of  aro- 
matic balsams,  oils,  and  gums  are  produced.  Trees  and  shrubs  which 
yield  seven  different  kinds  of  wax  are  known,  and,  according  to  Peruvian 
writers,  this  territory  is  a  new  world  in  itself.  Almonds,  ginger,  the  balsam 
of  copaiba,  gum  copal,  etc.,  are  all  said  to  abound.  On  the  coasts,  and  the 
west  slopes  of  the  Andes,  are  produced  the  cabbage-palm,  the  cocoanut,  the 
chocolate-nut,  the  cotton  shrub,  the  pineapple,  tumeric,  plaintain,  and 


A  PEBUVIAN  FOEEST. 

eugar-cane,  besides  some  trees  that  have  only  Peruvian  appellations.  The 
coffea  racemosis  is  found  in  the  interior,  and  the  berries  are  used  in  th« 
same  way  as  those  of  the  cultivated  species.  The  large  flowered  jasmine, 
and  the  datura  arborea  are  very  abundant  hi  the  vicinity  of  Lima,  and  are 
much  used  by  the  women  for  wreaths,  and  for  braiding  in  their  hair.  No 
fewer  than  twenty-four  species  of  pepper,  and  five  or  six  of  capsium  are 
reckoned  natives;  there  are  several  species  of  sclanum,  or  plants  of  the 
potato  genus,  and  the  potato  commonly  called  the  Irish  was  originally 
brought  from  Peru.  Tobacco  and  jalap  are  abundant  in  the  groves  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain;  and  many  of  the  varieties  cultivated  in  the  green- 
houses and  gardens  in  other  countries  fjrov:  vdld  in  the  forests.  Cotton  ii 


338       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

found  in  great  abundance  in  a  wild  state  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon  and  its 
tributaries.  Among  the  numerous  shrubs  wliich  clothe  the  highlands,  the 
different  species  of  cinchona  or  Peruvian  bark  are  the  most  valuable.  It  ia 
scattered  along  the  skirts  of  the  Andes  over  an  extent  of  2,000  miles,  at  an 
elevation  of  from  2,800  to  9,500  feet,  and  therefore  thrives  in  a  great  variety 
of  climates.  On  the  east  declivity  of  the  Andes  it  forms  a  continued  forest 
for  many  miles.  Caoutchouc  is  procured  from  the  inspissated  juices  of  a 
variety  of  different  plants.  The  tree-ferns  range  between  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea;  beyond  the  height  of  ten 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  arborescent  vegetables  disappear;  between  six 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  five  hundred  feet  the  Alpine 
plants  are  found;  species  of  the  Winiera  and  EscaUonia  occur  between  nine 
thousand  two  hundred  and  ten  thousand  eight  hundred  feet,  and  form 
scrubby  bushes  in  the  cold  and  moist  climate. 

The  Laughing  Plant In  Palgrave's  "  Central  and  Eastern  Ara- 
bia "  we  are  told  some  interesting  facts  concerning  this  singular  plant.  The 
active  principle  appears  to  reside  principally  in  the  seeds.  These  seeds, 
when  powdered  and  administered  in  full  judicious  quantities,  produce 
effects  similar  to  those  produced  by  laughing  gas.  The  person  to  whom  the 
drug  is  administered  laughs,  sings,  dances,  and  conducts  himself  in  the 
most  extravagant  and  ludicrous  style.  After  an  hour  of  this  intense  excite- 
ment he  falls  asleep;  and  upon  awaking,  he  is  totally  unconscious  of  any- 
thing that  he  said  or  did  while  under  the  influence  of  the  drug.  It  is  a  com- 
mon joke  to  put  a  small  quantity  into  the  coflee  of  some  unsuspecting  in- 
dividual, in  order  to  enjoy  a  laugh  at  his  antics;  and  it  is  said  that,  when 
judiciously  given,  it  has  never  produced  any  evil  consequences.  An  over- 
dose would  be  dangerous.  The  plant  which  bears  these  berries  grows  only 
in  Arabia.  In  Kascem  it  hardly  attains  the  height  of  six  inches  above  the 
ground,  while  in  Oman  it  has  reached  the  height  of  three  or  four  feet,  with 
wide-spreading  limbs.  The  stems  are  woody,  and  when  stripped  of  the 
bark  have  a  yellowish  tinge;  the  leaf  is  of  a  dark-green  color,  and  pinnated 
with  about  twenty  leaflets  on  either  side;  the  stalks  are  smooth  and  shining; 
the  flowers  are  yellow,  and  grow  in  tufts,  and  the  anthers  numerous.  The 
fruit  is  a  capsule,  stuffed  with  a  greenish  padding,  in  which  lie  embedded 
two  or  three  black  seeds,  in  size  and  shape  much  like  French  beans.  Their 
taste  is  sweetish,  but  with  a  peculiar  opiate  flavor.  The  smell  is  overpower- 
ing and  almost  sickly. 

The  Fountain  Tree. — These  are  very  extraordinary  vegetables,  grow- 
ing in  one  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and  likewise  said  to  exist  in  some  other 
places,  which  distill  water  from  their  leaves  in  such  plenty  as  to  answer  all 
the  purposes  of  the  inhabitants  who  live  near  them.  Of  these  trees  we  have 
the  following  account,  in  Glasse's  "  History  of  the  Canary  Islands  ":  "  There 
are  three  fountains  of  water  in  the  whole  island  of  Hiero,  wherein  the  foun- 
tain tree  grows.  The  larger  cattle  are  watered  at  those  fountains,  and  at  a 
place  where  water  distills  from  the  leaves  of  a  tree.  Many  writers  have  made 
mention  of  this  famous  tree,  some  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  appear 
miraculous;  others  again  deny  the  existence  of  any  such  tree,  among  whom 
ia  Father  Feyjoo,  a  modern  Spanish  author.  But  he,  and  those  who  agree 
•with  him  in  this  matter,  are  as  much  mistaken  as  those  who  would  make  it 
appear  to  be  miraculous.  The  author  of  the  '  History  of  the  Discovery  and 
Conquest '  has  given  us  a  particular  account  of  it,  as  follows; 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  339 

" '  The  district  in  which  this  tree  stands  is  called  Tigulabe;  near  to  which, 
and  hi  the  cliff  or  steep  rocky  ascent  that  surrounds  the  whole  island,  is  a 
gutter  or  gully,  which  commences  at  the  sea,  and  continues  to  the  summit 
of  the  cliff,  where  it  joins  or  coincides  with  a  valley,  which  is  terminated  by 
the  steep  front  of  a  rock.  On  the  top  of  this  rock  grows  a  tree,  called,  in  the 
language  of  the  ancient  inhabitants,  garse,  sacred  or  holy  tree,  which  for 
many  years  has  been  preserved  sound,  entire,  and  fresh.  Its  leaves  con- 
stantly distill  such  a  quantity  of  water  as  is  sufficient  to  furnish  drink  to 
every  living  creature  in  Hioro,  nature  having  provided  this  remedy  for  the 
drought  of  the  island.  It  is  situated  about  a  league  and  a  half  from  the  sea. 
Nobody  knows  of  what  species  it  is,  only  that  it  is  called  til.  It  is  distinct 
from  other  trees,  and  stands  by  itself.  Its  fruit  resembles  the  acorn,  and 
tastes  something  like  the  kernel  of  a  pineapple,  but  is  softer  and  more  aro- 
matic. The  leaves  of  this  tree  resemble  those  of  the  laurel,  but  are  larger, 
wider,  and  more  curved;  they  come  forth  in  a  perpetual  succession,  so  that 
the  tree  always  remains  green.  Near  to  it  grows  a  thorn,  which  fastens  on 
many  of  its  branches,  and  interweaves  with  them;  and  at  a  small  distance 
from  the  garse  are  some  beech-trees,  bresoep,  and  thorns.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  trunk  are  two  large  tanks  or  cisterns,  of  rough  stone,  or  rather 
one  cistern  divided,  each  half  being  twenty  feet  square,  and  sixteen  spans 
in  depth.  One  of  these  contains  water  for  the  drinking  of  the  inhabitants; 
and  the  other,  that  which  they  use  for  their  cattle,  washing,  and  such  like 
purposes. 

"  '  Every  morning,  near  this  part  of  the  island,  a  cloud  or  mist  arises 
from  the  sea,  which  the  south  or  easterly  winds  force  against  the  foremen- 
tioned  steep  cliff;  so  that  the  cloud,  having  no  vent  but  by  the  gutter,  grad- 
ually ascends  it,  and  from  thence  advances  slowly  to  the  extremity  of  the 
valley,  where  it  is  stopped  and  checked  by  the  front  of  the  rock  which  ter- 
minates the  valley,  and  then  rests  upon  tne  thick  leaves  and  wide  spreading 
branches  of  the  tree,  from  whence  it  distills  in  drops  during  the  remainder  of 
the  day,  until  it  is  at  length  exhausted,  in  the  same  manner  that  we  see  water 
drip  from  the  leaves  of  trees  after  a  heavy  shower  of  rain. 

" '  This  distillation  is  not  peculiar  to  the  garse  or  til,  for  the  bresoes, 
which  grow  near  it,  likewise  drop  water;  but  their  leaves  being  but  few  and 
narrow,  the  quantity  is  so  trifling,  that,  though  the  natives  save  some  of  it, 
yet  they  make  little  or  no  account  of  any  but  what  distills  from  the  til,  which, 
together  with  the  water  of  some  fountains,  and  what  is  saved  in  the  winter 
season,  is  sufficient  to  serve  them  and  their  flocks.  A  person  lives  on  the 
spot  near  which  this  tree  grows,  to  take  care  of  it  and  its  waters,  and  is  al- 
lowed a  house  to  live  in,  with  a  certain  salary.  He  every  day  distributes  to 
each  family  of  the  district  seven  pots  or  vessels  full  of  water,  besides  what 
he  gives  to  the  principal  people  of  the  island.' " 

The  Groaning  Tree.— The  history  of  the  groaning  tree  is  this:  About 
forty  years  ago  a  cottager  who  lived  near  the  center  of  the  village  of  Bades- 
ley,  near  Lymington,  England,  heard  frequently  a  strange  noise  behind  his 
house,  like  that  of  a  person  in  extreme  agony.  Soon  after  it  caught  the  at- 
tention of  his  wife,  who  was  then  confined  to  her  bed.  She  was  a  timorous 
woman,  and,  being  greatly  alarmed,  her  husband  endeavored  to  persuade 
her  that  the  noise  she  heard  was  only  the  bellowing  of  the  stags  in  the  forest. 
By  degrees,  however,  the  neighbors  on  all  sides  heard  it,  and  the  thing  be- 
gan to  be  much  talked  of.  It  was  by  this  time  plainly  discovered  that  the 
groaning  noise  proceeded  from  an  elm  which  grew  at  the  end  of  the  garden. 


340       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

It  was  a  young,  vigorous  tree,  and  to  all  appearance  perfectly  sound.  In 
a  few  weeks  the  fame  of  the  groaning  tree  was  spread  far  and  wide,  and  peo- 
ple from  all  parts  nocked  to  hear  it.  Among  others  it  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  then  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  who  resided  at  that  time  for 
the  advantages  of  a  sea-bath,  at  Pilewell,  the  seat  of  Sir  James  Worsley, 
which  stood  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  groaning  tree.  Though  the 
country  people  assigned  many  superstitious  causes  for  this  strange  phenom- 
enon, the  naturalists  could  assign  no  physical  one  that  was  in  any  degree 
satisfactory.  Some  thought  it  was  owing  to  the  twisting  and  friction  of  the 
roots.  Others  thought  it  proceeded  from  water  which  had  collected  in  the 
body  of  the  tree,  or  perhaps  from  pent  air.  But  no  cause  that  was  alleged 
appeared  equal  to  the  effect.  In  the  meantime  the  tree  did  not  always 
groan,  sometimes  disappointing  its  visitants;  yet  no  cause  could  be  assigned 
for  its  temporary  cessations,  either  from  seasons  or  weather.  If  any  differ- 
ence was  observed,  it  was  thought  to  groan  least  when  the  weather  wad  wet, 
and  most  when  it  was  clear  and  frosty;  but  the  sound  at  all  times  seemed 
to  arise  from  the  root.  Thus  the  groaning  tree  continued  an  object  of  as- 
tonishment, during  the  space  of  eighteen  or  twenty  months,  to  all  the  country 
around;  and,  for  the  information  of  distant  parts,  a  pamphlet  was  drawn  up 
containing  a  particular  account  of  all  the  circumstances  relating  to  it.  At 
length  the  owner  of  it,  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Forbes,  making  too  rash 
an  experiment  to  discover  the  cause,  bored  a  hole  in  its  trunk.  After  this 
it  never  groaned.  It  was  then  rooted  up,  with  a  further  view  to  make  a 
discovery;  but  still  nothing  appeared  which  led  to  any  explanation  of  the 
cause.  It  was  universally  believed,  however,  that  there  was  no  trick  in  the 
affair,  but  that  some  natural  cause  really  existed,  though  never  understood. 

The  Whistling  Tree — In  Nubia  and  the  Soudan  groves  a  species  of 
acacia  is  described  as  existing,  whose  scientific  appellation,  as  well  as  its 
popular  name,  is  derived  from  a  peculiar  sound  emitted  by  the  branches 
when  swayed  by  the  wind.  The  Arabic  name  is  the  "  soffa,"  or  pipe,  and 
the  specific  name  of  fistula,  also  meaning  a  pipe,  has  been  given  to  it  for  the 
same  reason  which  prompted  the  natives  to  give  it  its  local  designation. 
The  tree  is  infected  with  insects,  whose  eggs  are  deposited  in  the  young 
shoots  and  extremities  of  the  branches.  A  sort  of  gall-like  excrescence  about 
an  inch  in  diameter  is  produced  at  the  base  of  these  shootw,  and  when  the 
larva  has  emerged  from  this  nidus,  it  leaves  a  small  circular  hole,  the  action 
of  the  wind  in  which  causes  it  to  produce  a  whistling  sound  like  that  pro- 
duced by  a  flute  or  by  blowing  into  any  hollow  pipe.  When  the  wind  is  vio- 
lent, the  noise  caused  by  thousands  of  these  natural  flutes  in  a  grove  of 
acacias  is  most  remarkable.  The  description  given  by  Dr.  Schweinfurth  of 
these  bladder-like  galls  leaves  it  uncertain  whether  they  are  true  gall-nuts 
or  whether  they  are  the  secretion  of  a  species  of  lac  insects.  The  valuable 
Indian  lac  insect  thrives  on  two  or  three  species  of  acacia,  while  one  variety 
(thfi  A.  Arabica)  also  produces  a  pod  or  gall-nut,  which  is  useful  for  tanning. 
In  either  case,  these  natural  "  whistles  "  of  the  whistling  tree  would  form  a 
valuable  article  of  commerce  if  they  could  be  easily  and  regularly  collected 
and  exported. 

The  Banyan  Tree. — This  tree,  a  native  of  India,  is  remarkable  for 
its  vast  rooting  branches.  It  is  a  species  of  fig;  has  ovate,  heart-shaped, 
entire  leaves,  about  five  or  six  inches  long,  and  produces  a  fruit  of  a  rich 
scarlet  color,  not  larger  than  a  cherry,  growing  in  pairs  from  the  axils  of  the 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC. 


341 


«aves.  Tho  branches  send  shoots  downwards,  which,  when  they  have 
rooted,  become  stems,  the  tree  in  this  manner  spreading  over  a  great  sur- 
face, and  endur- 
ing for  many 
ages.  One  has 
been  described 
as  having  no 
fewer  than  three 
hundred  andfifty 
stems,  equal  to 
large  oaks,  and 
more  than  three 
thousand  small- 
er ones,  covering 
a  space  sufficient 
to  contain  _  seven 
thousand  people. 
The  branches  are 
usually  covered 
with  monkeys, 
birds,  and  enor- 
mous bats.  The 
monkeys  eatboth 
the  fruit  and 
leaves.  The  veg- 
etation of  the 
banyan  seldom 
begins  on  the 
ground.  The 
seeds  are  depos- 
ited by  birds  in 
the  crowns  of 
palms,  and  send 
down  roots 
which  embrace 
and  eventually 
kill  the  palm.  As 
the  banyan  gets 
old,  it  breaks  up 
into  separate 
masses,  the  orig- 
inal trunk  de- 
caying, and  the 
props  becoming 
separate  trunks 
of  the  different 
portions.  The 
wood  of  the  ban- 
yan is  light,  po»- 
ous,  and  of  no 

value.  The  bark  is  regarded  by  the  Hindoo  physicians  as  a  powerful  tonic, 
and  is  administered  in  diabetes.  The  white,  glutinous  juice  is  used  to  re- 
lieve toothache,  and  also  as  an  application  to  the  soles  of  the  feet  when  in- 


THE  BAOTAN  TREE. 


842       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

flamed.  Bird  lime  is  also  made  from  it.  The  banyan  tree  is  beautifully 
described  by  Southey  in  his  poem,  "  The  Curse  of  Kehama." 

The  Tallow  Tree.— This  is  a  remarkable  tree,  growing  in  great 
plenty  in  China,  so  called  from  its  producing  a  substance  like  tallow,  and 
which  serves  for  the  same  purpose;  it  is  about  the  height  of  a  cherry  tree, 
its  leaves  in  form  of  a  heart,  of  a  deep  shining  red  color,  and  its  bark  very 
smooth.  Its  fruit  is  inclosed  in  a  kind  of  pod,  or  cover,  like  a  chestnut,  and 
consists  of  three  round  white  grains,  of  the  size  and  form  of  a  small  nut, 
each  having  its  peculiar  capsule,  and  a  little  stone  within.  This  stone  is  en- 
compassed with  a  white  pulp,  which  has  all  the  properties  of  true  tallow, 
both  as  to  consistence,  color,  and  even  smell,  and  accordingly  the  Chinese 
make  their  candles  of  it.  All  the  preparation  they  give  it  is  to  melt  it  down, 
and  Tni-E  a  little  oil  with  it,  to  make  it  softer  and  more  pliant.  The  candles 
made  of  it  yield  a  thicker  smoke  and  a  dimmer  light  than  do  those  made 
from  animal  tallow;  but  those  defects  are  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
wicks,  which  are  not  of  cotton,  but  only  a  little  rod  of  dry  light  wood, 
covered  with  the  pith  of  a  rush  wound  round  it,  which,  being  very  porous, 
serves  to  nitrate  the  minute  parta  of  the  tallow,  attracted  by  the  burning 
stick,  and  by  this  means  is  kept  alive. 

The  Paper  Tree.— The  name  of  this  tree  is  Aouta.  It  is  a  mulberry- 
tree,  found  at  Otaheite,  in  the  South  Sea,  from  which  a  cloth  is  manufac- 
tured that  is  worn  by  the  principal  inhabitants.  The  bark  of  the  tree  is 
stripped  off,  and  deposited  to  soak  in  running  water;  when  it  is  sufficiently 
softened,  the  fibres  of  the  inner  coat  are  carefully  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  bark;  they  are  then  placed  in  lengths  of  about  eleven  or  twelve  yards, 
one  by  the  side  of  another,  till  they  are  about  a  foot  broad;  and  two  or  three 
layers  are  put  one  upon  another.  This  is  done  in  the  evening;  and  next 
morning  the  water  is  drained  off,  and  the  several  fibres  adhere  together  in 
one  piece.  It  is  afterwards  beaten  on  a  smooth  piece  of  wood  with  instru- 
ments marked  lengthways,  with  small  grooves  of  different  degrees  of  fine- 
ness; and  by  means  of  this  it  becomes  as  t.liin  as  muslin.  After  bleaching 
it  in  the  air,  to  whiten  it,  it  is  fit  for  use. 

The  Stinging  Tree. — The  "  stinging  tree  "  of  Queensland  is  a  luxu- 
rious shrub,  pleasing  to  the  eye  but  dangerous  to  the  touch.  It  grows  from 
two  or  three  inches  to  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  emits  a  disagreeable 
odor.  Says  a  traveler:  Sometimes  while  shooting  turkeys  in  the  scrubs,  I 
have  entirely  forgotten  the  stinging  tree  until  warned  of  its  close  proximity 
by  its  smell,  and  have  often  found  myself  hi  a  little  forest  of  them.  I  was 
only  once  stung,  and  that  very  lightly.  Its  effects  are  curious;  it  leaves  no 
mark,  but  the  pain  is  maddening;  and  for  months  afterward  the  part  when 
touched  is  tender  in  rainy  weather,  or  when  it  gets  wet  in  washing,  etc.  I 
have  seen  a  man  who  treats  ordinary  pain  lightly  roll  on  the  ground  in 
agony  after  being  stung,  and  I  have  known  a  horse  so  completely  mad  after 
getting  into  a  grove  of  the  trees  that  he  rushed  open-mouthed  at  every  one 
who  approached  him,  and  had  to  be  shot.  Dogs,  when  stung,  will  rush 
about  whining  piteously,  biting  pieces  from  the  affected  part. 

Mahogany The  mahogany  tree  is  found  in  Florida,  and  may  thus  be 

claimed  as  indigenous  to  the  United  States;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  it  may  and  hereafter  will  be  planted  and  cultivated  to  great  advantage. 
But  hitherto  it  has  been  cut  chiefly  in  the  native  forests  of  the  Bahama*,  the 


TREES,    PLANTS,    FRUITS,    ETC.  343 

West  India  Islands,  Honduras  and  Yucatan.  Full-grown,  it  is  one  of  the 
inonarchs  of  the  forests  of  tropical  America.  Its  vast  trunk  and  massive 
arms  rising  to  a  very  lofty  height,  and  spreading  with  graceful  sweep  over 
immense  spaces — covered  with  beautiful  foliage,  bright,  glossy,  light  and 
airy,  clinging  so  long  to  the  spray  as  to  make  it  almost  an  evergreen  —pre- 
sent a  rare  combination  of  loveliness  and  grandeur.  The  leaves  are  very 
small,  delicate  and  polished  like  those  of  the  laurel.  The  flowers  are  small 
and  white,  or  greenish  yellow.  The  fruit  ia  a  hard,  woody  capsule,  oval,  not 
unlike  the  egg  of  a  turkey  in  size  and  shape,  and  contains  five  cells,  in  each 
of  which  are  inclosed  about  fifteen  seeds.  The  mahogany  lumbermen,  hav- 
ing selected  a  tree,  surround  it  with  a  platform  about  twelve  feet  above  the 
ground,  and  cut  it  above  the  platform.  Some  dozen  or  fifteen  feet  of  the 
largest  part  of  the  trunk  are  thus  lost.  Yet  a  eingle  log  not  unfrequently 
weighs  from  six  or  aeven  to  fifteen  tons,  and  sometimes  measures  as  much 
as  seventeen  feet  in  length,  and  four  and  a  half  to  five  and  a  half  feet  in 
diameter,  one  tree  furnishing  two,  three  or  four  such  logs.  Some  trees  have 
yielded  twelve  thousand  superficial  feet,  and  at  average  piece  prices  have 
sold  for  $15,000.  Messrs.  Broad  wood,  London,  piano  manufacturers,  paid 
£3,000  for  three  logs,  all  cut  from  one  tree,  and  each  about  fifteen  feet  long 
and  more  than  three  feet  square. 

Rosewood. — It  has  puzzled  many  people  to  decide  vrhy  the  dark  wood 
so  highly  valued  for  furniture  should  be  called  "  rosewood."  Its  color  cer- 
tainly does  not  look  much  like  a  rose;  so  we  must  look  for  some  other  rea- 
son. Upon  asking,  we  are  told  that  when  the  tree  is  first  cut,  the  fresh  wood 
possesses  a  very  strong  rose-like  fragrance — hence  the  name.  There  are  a 
half  dozen  or  more  kinds  of  rosewood  trees.  The  varieties  are  found  in 
South  America,  and  in  the  East  Indies  and  neighboring  islands.  Some- 
times the  trees  grow  so  large  that  planks  four  feet  broad  and  ten  feet  in 
length  can  be  cut  from  them.  These  broad  planks  are  principally  used  to 
make  the  tops  of  pianofortes.  When  growing  in  the  forest,  the  rosewood 
tree  is  remarkable  for  its  beauty;  but  such  is  its  value  in  manufactures  as 
an  ornamental  wood  that  some  of  the  forests  where  it  once  grew  abundantly 
now  have  scarcely  a  single  specimen.  In  Madras  the  government  ha» 
prudently  had  great  plantations  of  this  tree  set  out,  in  order  to  keep  up  the 


GREAT    INVENTIONS. 


The  Steam  Engine. — The  Marquis  of  Worcester  is  commonly  re- 
garded as  the  inventor  of  the  steam  engine;  but  perhaps  the  most  that  can 
be  justly  said  is,  that  he  was  the  first  person  who  imagined  the  possibility 
of  constructing  such  a  machine.  The  individual  who  actually  first  con- 
structed an  engine  for  raising  water  by  the  alternate  force  and  condensation 
of  steam,  was  Captain  Savary,  who-published  an  account  of  his  invention  in 
a  small  tract,  called  the  "  Miner's  Friend."  In  1705,  Newcomen  obtained  a 
patent  for  an  improved  steam  engine,  and  in  1717  Henry  Beighton  made  some 
further  improvements,  one  of  which  is  generally  allowed  to  have  been  that 
of  causing  the  steam  cock  to  be  opened  and  shut  by  the  machinery — a  man 
having  been  previously  employed  for  the  express  purpose.  A  few  other  im- 
provements were  made  by  different  persons,  but  they  did  not  affect  the  gen- 
eral action  of  the  engine;  and  although  defects  in  its  power  had  been 
noticed,  their  cause  was  unknown  till  1765,  when,  happily  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  arts  and  manufactures  of  Britain,  the  subject  engaged  the  in- 
genuity of  Mr.  Watt.  The  model  of  a  Newcomen's  engine  fell  into  his  hands 
to  be  repaired,  and  in  this  he  presently  observed  the  immense  loss  of  steam 
occasioned  by  its  admission  into  the  cylinder,  just  cooled  for  condensations; 
indeed,  he  went  so  far  as  to  ascertain  by  experiment  that  half  the  steam  of 
the  boiler  was  thus  lost.  But  the  circumstance  that  excited  his  greatest 
surprise  was  that  the  injection  water  gained  infinitely  more  heat  than  if  a 
quantity  of  boiling  water,  equal  to  that  required  to  form  the  steam,  had 
been  added  to  it.  In  this  dilemma,  he  is  understood  to  have  consulted  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Black,  whose  discoveries  on  the  subject  of  heat  were  then 
the  theme  of  general  wonder,  and  from  him  he  obtained  such  an  explanation 
of  the  difficulty  as  enabled  him  so  to  alter  the  construction  of  the  engine, 
that  with  rather  less  than  one-third  of  the  quantity  of  steam  it  could  pro- 
duce the  same  power  as  one  of  equal  dimensions  on  Newcomen's  plan.  But 
great  as  was  this  improvement,  it  formed  but  a  small  part  of  the  successful 
achievements  of  Mr.  Watt  in  this  department  of  mechanics.  The  application 
and  utility  of  the  engine  he  extended  in  various  important  ways,  and  at  last 
arrived  at  that  climax  of  improvement  which  consisted  in  making  the  steam 
serve  to  elevate  as  well  as  to  depress  the  piston.  An  engine  upon  this  plan, 
executed  at  Mr.  Watt's  manufactory  at  Soho,  near  Birmingham,  was  first 
employed  at  the  Albion  Mills,  in  1778. 

George  Stephensou  is  emphatically  the  engineer  to  whose  intelligence 
and  perseverance  we  owe  the  introduction  of  railroads  into  England,  and 
consequently  into  the  United  States.  It  was  at  Killingworth  Colliery  that 
he  constructed  his  first  locomotive.  At  firat,  it  was  not  very  efficient;  but, 
subsequently,  the  grand  improvement  of  the  "steam  blast "  earned  his  ex- 
periment to  a  triumphant  issue.  Further  improvements  followed,  and  in 
1821  Stephenson  was  appointed  engineer  for  the  construction  of  the  Stockton 
and  Darlington  Railway;  the  line,  on  its  completion,  being  partially  worked 
by  means  of  his  great  invention.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  trade  of  South 


GREAT   INVENTIONS. 


345 


Lancashire,  together  with  the  unpopular  management  of  the  Bridgewater 
Canal,  gave  rise,  in  1821,  to  the  project  of  a  railway  between  Liverpool  and 
Manchester.  Stepheneon  was  chosen  engineer.  That  he  proposed  to  work 
the  line  with  an  engine  which  was  to  go  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour, 
was  a  fact  held  up  as  of  itself  sufficient  to  stamp  the  project  as  a  bubble. 
"Twelve  miles  an  hourl"  exclaimed  the  Quarterly  lieciew — "as  well  trust 
one's  self  to  be  fired  off  on  a  Congreve  rocket."  When  the  bill  ultimately 
passed,  on  16th  of  March,  1826,  Stephenson  was  appointed  principal  engineer, 
with  a  salary  of  £1,000  a  year.  After  inconceivable  difficulties,  the  line  was 
completed  in  1829.  There  then  ensued  the  memorable  competition  of 
engines,  resulting  in  the  complete  triumph  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  "  Rocketj" 
which,  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one  except  himself,  was  found  capable 


GEORGE  STEPHENSON'S  FIKST  LOCOMOTIVE. 


of  traveling  at  the  till  then  undreamt-of  rate  of  thirty-five  miles  an  hour. 
"  Now,"  exclaimed  one  of  the  directors,  "  George  Stephenson  has  at  last 
delivered  himself." 

The  first  locomotive  built  in  the  United  States  was  invented  by  the  vener- 
able Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York.  His  engine  was  built  at  the  stage  shops 
of  Reedside,  Stockton  &  Stokes,  in  Baltimore;  the  foreman,  Richard  Imlay, 
being  the  directing  mechanic.  Mr.  Reedside  remembers  the  trial  trip 
made  by  Mr.  Cooper  with  his  engine  to  the  Relay  House  and  back.  The 
boiler  was  not  much  larger  than  that  of  a  modern  kitchen  range.  It  stood 
upright  in  the  car,  and  the  part  above  the  furnace  was  filled  with  sum* 
vertical  tubes.  The  cylinder  was  about  three  inches  and  a  half  in  diametei, 
and  the  speed  was  gotten  up  by  gearing.  To  create  sufficient  draft  to 


846      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    tsSEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

generate  steam,  a  blowing  apparatus  was  used.  This  was  driven  by  a  fly 
pulley  passing  over  a  drum,  attached  to  one  of  the  car  wheels.  Subse- 
quently an  open  car  was  attached  to  the  locomotive,  which  did  not  weigh 
more  than  a  ton,  and  the  directors  and  officers  of  the  road  were  carried  to 
Ellicott's  Mills,  Mr.  Cooper  acting  as  engineer  and  fireman.  It  is  said  that 
he  made  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  But  the  inventor  was  doomed  to  be  greatly 
chagrined  on  this  trip.  Stockton  and  Stokes  had  two  splendid  gray  horses 
hitched  tandem  to  a  car,  waiting  at  the  Belay  House  on  one  of  the  tracks  lor 
the  return  of  Cooper's  party  from  Ellicott's  Mills.  The  race  began,  the 
start  being  even.  The  gray  horses  took  the  lead,  and  were  soon  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  ahead;  but  by  and  by  Mr.  Cooper  got  steam  up,  and  the 
iron  horse  began  to  gain,  and  with  a  wild  hurrah  Cooper's  passengers  as 
they  swept  by  greeted  those  drawn  by  the  horse  team.  Just  then  the  band 
which  drove  the  blowing  apparatus  slipped  off  the  drum,  and  although  Mr. 
Cooper  mangled  his  hands  vainly  trying  to  readjust  it,  the  steam  went  down, 
and  Stockton's  gray  horses  beat  Cooper's  iron  horse  into  the  city.  The 
boiler  of  Cooper's  engine  is  now  in  the  shops  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Bailroad  at  Mount  Claire. 

The  Telegraph,. — It  has  been  reserved  for  our  own  day  to  develop 
into  practical  use  the  capabilities  of  electricity  and  magnetism  as  a  means 
•f  distant  communication;  although  in  earlier  times,  the  possibility  of  such 
a  use  of  this  natural  power  had  been  frequently  suggested.  The  public  use 
of  the  electric  telegraph  dates  not  earlier  than  1844;  but  the  idea  that  mag- 
netism could  be  applied  for  distant  communication  is  at  least  two  centuries 
and  a  half  old.  Galileo,  in  one  of  his  dialogues  on  the  rival  astronomical 
systems,  written  in  1632,  puts  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  his  speakers,  a  refer- 
ence to  a  secret  art,  by  which,  through  the  sympathy  of  a  magnetic  needle, 
it  would  be  possible  to  converse  across  a  space  of  two  or  three  thousand 
miles.  In  1753,  a  letter  appeared  in  the  Scats  Magazine,  bearing  the  initials 
C.  M.,  and  headed  "  An  Expeditious  Method  of  Conveying  Intelligence,"  in 
which  we  must  recognize  the  first  perception  of  the  uses  to  which  telegraphy 
might  be  put.  This  interesting  letter  starts  with  the  remark  that  it "  is  welt 
known  to  all  who  are  conversant  in  electric  experiments,  that  the  electric 
power  may  be  propagated  along  a  small  wire  from  one  place  to  another 
without  being  sensibly  abated  by  the  length  of  its  progress;  "  and  it  goes  on 
to  describe  an  arrangement  of  wires  corresponding  in  number  to  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet,  to  be  fixed  in  glass  or  jewellers'  cement  at  intervals  of 
twenty  yards,  and  to  convey,  from  an  electric  machine  or  rubber,  a  current 
which  would  lift  each  letter,  "  marked  on  bits  of  paper,  or  other  substance 
that  might  be  light  enough  "  to  rise  to  the  electrified  ball  which  formed  the 
terminal  of  each  wire.  The  apparatus  proposed  is  crude  and  clumsy,  yet  we 
can  hardly  fail  to  recognize,  in  the  letter  of  this  man,  the  full  appreciation 
of  what  the  electric  telegraph  might  become.  From  a  period  shortly  an- 
terior to  the  date  of  the  letter  in  the  Scots  Magazine,  down  to  1837,  a  large 
number  of  proposals,  more  or  less  ingenious,  are  on  record. 

In  the  year  1832,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  an  American  artist  and  inventor, 
while  on  a  voyage  from  Havre  to  New  York,  conceived  the  idea  of  a  mag- 
netic telegraph.  He  was  at  first  laughed  at  as  a  man  of  visionary  ideas,  and 
"  as  crazy  as  old  Morse  "  was  a  common  epithet  in  those  days.  Having  but 
scanty  means,  Professor  Morse  was  unable  himself  to  apply  his  invention, 
and  for  six  years  he  vainly  petitioned  Congress  to  appropriate  a  sum  suffi- 
cient to  make  the  experiment.  Ha  struggled  on  until  1843,  when,  as  he  had 


QREAT   INVENTIONS.  347 

almost  yielded  to  despair,  Congress,  at  midnight,  and  the  last  moments  of 
the  session,  appropriated  $30,000  for  an  experimental  line  between  Washing- 
ton and  Baltimore.  This  line  was  completed  in  the  following  year,  and  the 
first  message  sent  over  it  was:  "  What  hath  God  wrought  ?  "  For  his  great 
invention,  of  such  incalculable  service  to  mankind,  Professor  Morse  was  re- 
warded by  testimonials,  honors,  orders  of  nobility  and  wealth.  Several 
European  States  joined  in  presenting  him  a  purse  of  400,000  francs,  and 
banquets  were  given  him  in  London  and  Paris. 

An  electric  telegraph  consists  of  three  essential  parts:  1,  the  battery,  or 
source  of  electrical  power;  2,  the  wire,  or  channel  along  which  that  power  is 
conveyed  to  the  required  distant  point;  3,  the  instrument,  by  which  the 
electricity  gives  its  signals,  or  makes  evident  to  the  observer  its  presence  or 
absence,  its  direction  or  degree  of  intensity  of  action. 

The  leading  principle  in  the  Morse  and  other  allied  instruments  is,  that 
by  the  depression  of  a  key  or  other  method,  an  electric  circuit  is  "  closed  " 
or  completed,  and  a  signal  is  transmitted  along  the  wire  to  a  distant  station, 
where,  on  its  arrival,  it  reproduces  the  signal  by  the  action  of  an  electro- 
magnet or  otherwise.  Electrically  the  Morse  consists  of  the  transmitting 
key  and  the  electro-magnet  and  armature;  while  mechanically,  it  consists  of 
a  lever,  with  circular  wheel  or  disc,  attached  to  the  armature,  and  a  clock- 
work arrangement,  by  which  the  paper  tape  to  be  printed  upon  is  carried 
forward  under  the  disc.  In  the  first  Morse  instruments  the  marks  were 
made  on  the  paper  with  a  pointed  style  (the  instrument  being  thus  known 
as  the  embosser);  but  by  the  invention  of  the  ink-writing  arrangement  of 
Siemens,  the  legibility  and  permanency  of  the  record  were  secured,  besides 
the  advantage  that  a  very  light  current  will  serve  to  make  the  marks.  The 
passage  of  a  current  draws  down  the  armature,  and  elevates  the  disc,  caus- 
ing a  straight  mark  on  the  tape  so  long  as  the  current  flows.  When  it 
ceases,  the  spring  draws  back  the  armature  and  the  mark  is  discontinued. 
Thus  the  duration  of  the  current  determines  the  nature  of  the  mark,  a  mo- 
mentary passage  causing  a  dot  and  a  longer  depression  of  the  key  a  dash. 
The  Morse  alphabet  of  dots  and  dashes  is  familiar  to  most  readers. 

The  Printing  Press. — Originating  at  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth,  the 
art  of  printing  continued  to  be  conducted  until  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  in  a  very  clumsy  manner.  The  press  resembled  a  screw- 
press,  with  a  contrivance  for  running  the  form  of  types  under  the  point  of 
pressure;  force  having  been  thus  applied,  the  screw  was  relaxed,  and  the 
form  withdrawn  with  the  impression  executed  on  the  paper.  The  defects  of 
this  very  rude  mechanism  were  at  length  partially  remedied  by  an  ingenious 
Dutch  mechanic,  Willem  Janseu  Blaeu,  who  carried  on  the  business  of 
a  mathematical  instrument-maker  at  Amsterdam.  He  contrived  a  press 
in  which  the  carriage  holding  the  form  was  wound  below  the  point  of  pres- 
sure, which  was  given  by  moving  a  handle  attached  to  a  screw  hanging  hi  a 
beam  having  a  spring,  which  spring  caused  the  screw  to  fly  back  as  soon  as 
the  impression  was  given.  This  species  of  press,  which  was  almost  entirely 
formed  of  wood,  continued  in  general  use  in  every  country  in  Europe  till 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

The  first  real  improvement  upon  the  printing  press  was  made  by  the 
Earl  of  Stanhope.  He  constructed  the  press  of  iron,  and  that  of  a  size  suf- 
ficient to  print  the  whole  surface  of  a  sheet,  and  he  applied  such  a  combined 
action  of  levers  to  the  screw  as  to  make  the  pull  a  great  deal  less  laborious 
to  the  pressman,  the  mechanism  altogether  being  such  as  to  permit  much 


&8       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

more  rapid  and  efficient  working.  A  multitude  of  improvements  speedily 
succeeded  that  of  Earl  Stanhope,  in  most  of  which  the  screw  was  dismissed, 
the  pressure  being  generally  effected  by  levers,  or  by  the  simple  and 
efficient  principle  of  straightening  a  joint.  The  Columbian  press,  the  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  George  Clymer,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  which  was  first  exhibited  hi 
1818,  was  a  gignal  improvement  upon  all  its  predecessors.  The  pressing 
power  in  this  instance  is  procured  by  a  long  bar  or  handle  acting  upon  a 
combination  of  exceedingly  powerful  levers  above  the  platen,  the  return 
of  the  handle  or  levers  being  effected  by  means  of  counter-poises  or  weights. 

Printing  by  hand-presses  of  an  improved  kind  continues  to  be  used 
in  the  case  of  limited  impressions,  or  where  extra  care  and  elegance  in 
typography  are  required;  also  where  machinery  is  unattainable;  but 
in  general  circumstances,  and  more  particularly  to  meet  the  demand  for 
popular  reading,  printing  is  now  executed  by  one  or  other  of  the  varieties 
of  cylinder-presses,  moved  by  steam-power.  On  approaching  a  cylinder 
press  when  at  work,  we  perceive  two  cylinders,  as  large  as  hogsheads,  re- 
volving en  upright  supports;  two  smaller  cylinders  or  drums  revolving 
above  them;  and  beneath,  within  the  framework,  a  table,  on  which  lie  the 
types  at  both  ends,  going  constantly  backward  and  forward.  A  belt  from  a 
steam-engine,  acting  upon  a  shaft  in  the  frame,  gives  motion  to  the  whole 
apparatus.  A  boy,  standing  on  the  top  of  some  steps,  feeds  in  sheets  of 
paper,  each  of  which,  on  being  delivered,  is  swept  round  the  first  cylinder 
(being  held  on  by  tapes),  gets  its  impression  below  from  the  types,  is  car- 
ried over  and  betwixt  the  drums  above,  and  then  brought  round  on  the 
second  cylinder;  now  it  gets  its  second  side  printed,  and  is  delivered  on  a 
table  completely  p  rinted.  On  minutely  examining  the  parts,  we  observe 
that  at  each  end  there  is  an  apparatus  of  rollers  taking  ink  from  a  ductor  or 
reservoir  of  that  material,  and  placing  it  upon  a  portion  of  the  moving  table 
beneath;  here  other  rollers  distribute  it,  while  others  take  it  off  and  roll  it 
upon  the  pages  of  types,  ready  for  each  impression.  The  cylinders  have  a 
continuous  rotary  motion  towards  each  other,  given  by  two  large-toothed 
wheels,  whilst  the  type  carnages  move  backward  and  forward  under  them. 
The  movements  are  so  contrived  that  the  type  carriage  shall  have  gone  and 
returned  to  the  same  point  during  the  period  that  the  cylinders  have  made 
one  entire  revolution;  consequently,  each  successive  impression  is  taken 
from  the  types  by  the  same  part  of  each  cylinder.  The  two  drums  placed 
between  the  cylinders  are  for  the  purpose  of  causing  the  sheet  of  paper  to 
pass  smoothly  and  accurately  from  one  printing  cylinder  to  the  other.  To 
preserve  the  sheet  in  its  proper  place  on  the  cylinders,  and  carry  it  forward 
through  the  different  parts  of  its  joiirney,  there  is  an  extensive  apparatus  of 
tapes.  These  tapes  are  half  an  inch  broad,  and  are  formed  into  a  series  of 
endless  bands,  arranged  at  certain  distances  apart,  so  as  to  fall  into  the 
interstices  and  margins  of  the  forms,  and  therefore  escape  being  crushed 
between  the  types  and  the  cylinders.  The  machine  may  be  stopped  at  any 
instant  by  turning  the  handle  of  a  lever. 

Many  years  ago  the  fact  became  manifest  that  for  daily  newspapers  of 
large  circulation,  the  entire  editions  of  which  must  be  printed  within  a  few 
hours,  a  press  such  as  that  just  lescribed  was  entirely  inadequate.  Re- 
course had  to  be  made  to  an  entirely  new  method  of  printing,  the  invention 
of  which  is  due  to  Mr.  Richard  Hoe,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Hoe's  process  con- 
sisted in  placing  the  types  (for  which  stereotype  plates  were  afterward  sub- 
stituted) on  a  horizontal  cylinder  revolving  on  its  axis,  against  which  the 
sheets  were  pressed  by  exterior  and  smaller  cylinders.  The  forms  of  type 


GREAT   INVENTIONS. 


349 


occupied  only  a  portion  of  the  main  cylinder,  the  remainder  affording  space 
for  the  inking  apparatus.    The  smaller  surrounding  cylinders  for  effecting 


\ 


the  pressure  were  arranged  in  a  framework,  in  connection  with  slopes,  by 
which  the  sheets  were  fed  in  blank  and  came  out  printed  on  one  side.  The 
eize  of  the  main  cylinder,  the  number  of  exterior  cylinders,  and  the  rate  of 
speed  determined  the  number  of  impressions  printed  per  hour.  Such  waa 


860        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  method  of  working  Hoe'a  rotary  machines,  which,  as  wanted,  were  made 
with  two,  four,  six,  eight  or  ten  subsidiary  cylinders. 

But  Mr.  Hoe's  original  invention,  just  described,  was  but  the  commence- 
ment of  that  state  of  perfection  to  which  the  art  of  newspaper  printing  has 
since  attained.  A  modern  newspaper  printing-machine,  such  as  that  shown 
in  our  illustration,  prints  from  a  continuous  roll  of  paper  and  from  a  single 
form  of  type,  delivering  the  newspapers  folded  and  ready  for  the  reader  at 
the  rate  of » twenty-two  thousand  perfect  papers  per  hour.  Such  a  press 
weighs  twenty-five  tons,  and  contains  five  thousand  separate  pieces,  and  so 
accurately  must  each  part  be  adjusted  that  three  decimals,  .001,  are  used  in 
measurement.  Over  one  hundred  patents  cover  the  mechanism  of  the  ma- 
chine, at.d  the  entire  time  of  an  army  of  workmen  is  employed  for  many 
months  in  the  construction  of  one  of  them. 

The  Electric  Light — The  following  description  of  the  Electric  Light 
is  extracted  from  "  Qately's  Universal  Educator,"  by  Professor  Charles  E. 
Beale  and  M.  K.  Gately  (Boston,  Mass.:  M.  K.  Gately): 

"  When  Faraday  in  1846  made  the  discovery  that  light  could  be  produced 
by  the  separation  of  two  carbon  rods  conducting  electricity  of  considerable 
intensity,  the  possibility  of  electric  lighting  on  a  large  scale  was  first  pre- 
sented to  the  minds  of  scientists.  The  effect  appeared  due  to  the  rarefac- 
tion of  the  air  by  the  great  heat  of  carbon  in  rapid  combustion,  and  to  the 
passage  of  mean  descent  particles  of  carbon  from  pole  to  pole,  thus  reducing 
the  resistance  always  offered  by  air  to  the  passage  of  electricity. 

"  Years  spent  in  the  study  of  the  subject  seem  to  have  satisfied  the  ad- 
vanced scientists  that  such  a  division  of  the  electric  light  as  would  be  neces- 
sary to  the  lighting  of  extensive  areas  was  impossible;  but  fortunately  there 
were  men  so  little  scientific  in  theory  that  they  were  not  prevented  from  ex- 
perimenting until  they  succeeded  in  producing  practical  results.  And  within 
a  year,  two  classes  of  lights  have  been  produced  which  seem  specially 
adapted  to  the  uses  made  of  them. 

The  first  is  called  the  arc-light,  and  its  principle  has  already  been  stated 
above  as  consisting  in  passing  an  electric  current  between  two  carbon  points. 
In  order,  however,  to  produce  an  electric  tension  of  sufficient  fores  to  allow 
any  considerable  sub-division  of  this  light,  it  was  necessary  to  invent  pow- 
erful machines  that  would  give  a  uniform  motion  to  the  current:  and  this 
has  at  last  been  accomplished  in  the  dynamo-electric  machine,  and  particu- 
larly that  of  Gramme.  But,  in  order  to  use  this  machine,  a  gas  or  steam 
engine,  or  some  mechanical  power,  is  required  to  give  rapid  motion  to  the 
coils;  and  some  of  this  power  is  lost  in  overcoming  the  friction  of  machinery, 
BO  that  in  no  case  can  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  force  of  the  engine  be 
utilized.  Where  water-power  can  be  used,  it  will  be  most  economical. 

"  On  account  of  the  great  resistance  offered  by  the  atmosphere  and  car- 
bons at  the  arc,  the  power  of  sub-division  of  the  light  is  comparatively  lim- 
ited. In  one  light  the  candle-power  may  be  as  high  as  one-tenth  of  the 
number  of  foot-pounds  of  power  employed;  but  when  the  attempt  is  made 
to  divide  a  light— for  instance,  of  four  thousand  candle-power  into  twenty 
arc-lights  of  two-hundred  candle-power—it  cannot  be  done,  for  much  electro- 
motive force  presents  itself  at  each  arc  in  an  opposite  direction  to  the  ad- 
vancing current.  A  division  can,  however,  be  made  with  considerable  loss 
of  power  at  each  arc,  though  the  largest  number  of  arc-lights  yet  produced 
by  one  machine  is  forty. 

"  The  carbons  which  produce  the  arc-light  are  gradually  consumed; 


ORE  AT   INVENTIONS.  351 

hence  the  space  between  the  points  would  continually  increase  with  loss  of 
lighting-power  were  it  not  for  a  self-regulating  apparatus,  which  keeps  the 
points  uniformly  at  the  same  distance  apart.  This  light  is  said  to  show  pre- 
cisely the  same  spectrum  as  does  sunlight,  and  is  claimed  to  be  identical  in 
action. 

"  The  coolness  of  the  electric  light  is  due  to  the  absence  of  that  large  ex- 
cess of  less  refrangible  or  heat-radiating  rays,  which  is  found  nearly  alike 
in  all  other  modes  of  artificial  lighting;  and  this  absence  of  heat-rays  is  due 
to  the  almost  perfect  combustion  of  carbon  material,  and  the  consequent 
transformation  of  nearly  all  the  heat,  on  account  of  its  great  intensity,  into 
light.  This  light  is  used  for  lighting  large  areas,  as  streets  of  cities. 

"  The  other  class  of  electric  light  is  simpler  in  construction  and  more 
direct  in  action.  It  is  called  the  incandescent  light.  To  produce  this  light, 
beside  the  usual  generating  machine  and  conducting  wires,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  at  each  lamp,  to  receive  the  current  of  electricity  and  transform  it  to 
heat  and  light,  a  rather  poor  conductor  of  electricity  formed  into  a  wire 
loop  or  curve;  and  it  must  be  either  non-combustible  in  air,  or  unchange- 
able in  a  vacuum.  Carbon  seems  to  be  the  best  substance  for  this  purpose, 
because,  as  compared  with  the  only  other  substance,  platinum,  which  can 
be  used  in  this  way,  it  is  infusible.  It  has,  however,  been  found  difficult  to 
manage,  on  account  of  its  combustibility;  yet,  by  repeated  experiments  and 
indomitable  perseverance,  Mr.  Edison,  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Swan,  of  Eng- 
land, at  about  the  same  time,  succeeded  in  producing  lamps  which  give 
satisfaction  to  all  who  use  them.  The  lamps  are  substantially  the  same  in 
principle,  though  Mr.  Edison's  proves  more  durable;  Mr.  Swan  using  a  fine 
carbonized  paper  filament,  while  Mr.  Edison's  lamp  consists  of  a  single  curl 
or  loop  of  carbonized  bamboo,  no  thicker  than  a  hair,  placed  in  an  exhausted 
glass  bulb.  Notwithstanding  the  extreme  fineness  of  the  loop,  it  possesses 
the  elasticity  of  a  steel  spring,  and  will  endure  electric  currents  of  great 
force. 

"  These  lamps  were  not  serviceable  at  first,  because  the  air  was  not 
sufficiently  exhausted  from  the  bulb  and  the  carbons  were  soon  consumed 
by  oxidation;  but  a  more  perfect  vacuum  was  finally  formed  by  passing  a 
greater  current  of  electricity  through  the  carbon  in  the  bulb  than  it  would 
subsequently  be  subjected  to,  and  at  the  same  time  exhausting  the  air. 
The  bulb  is  sealed  while  these  actions  are  taking  place. 

"  Each  lamp  is  subjected  to  this  process,  and  is  made  air  and  water  tight. 
Each  carbon,  by  a  wire  passing  through  the  bottom  of  the  lamp,  is  broughi 
imto  connection  with  the  conducting  wires  from  the  battery  or  dynamo- 
machine,  upon  screwing  the  lamp  into  a  socket  prepared  for  it.  Apparatus 
has  been  invented  by  which  the  amount  of  electricity  can  be  regulated,  and 
the  same  effect  produced  as  by  partially  turning  on  or  off  a  current  of  gas  in 
case  of  gas-light.  In  order  to  light  a  lamp  it  is  only  necessary  to  turn  a 
cock  exactly  similar  to  a  gas-cock,  and  matches  are  not  required.  The  de- 
sirableness of  this  lamp  consists  not  alone  in  its  soft,  clear  light,  but  in  its 
freedom  from  the  heating  and  air-vitiating  qualities  of  other  artificial  lights. 

"  The  subdivision  of  this  light  is  limitless,  and  depends  only  upon  the 
quantity  of  electricity  produced,  and  not  upon  the-  tension  or  electro-motive 
force,  as  does  the  arc-light.  The  success  of  this  subdivision  was  only  secured 
after  numerous  experiments,  and  yet,  when  obtained,  seemed  so  simple  thai 
the  inventor  undoubtedly  was  vexed  at  his  stupidity  in  not  at  once  thinking 
of  it;  but  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  accomplishments  of  the  age. 

"  It  is  effected  by  running  the  conducting  wires  side  by  side  and  placing 


852       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  lamps  between  them  in  connection  with  both,  so  that,  as  the  electricity 
hi  quantity  moves  along  the  conducting  wires,  a  sufficient  amount  passes 
into  each  lamp  to  produce  the  light,  and  the  greater  the  quantity  the 
brighter  the  light.  It  has  been  illustrated  by  one  scientist  in  this  way:  Two 
canals  conveying  water  are  cut  along  the  side  of  a  hill,  one  above  the  other, 
at  a  distance  of  &  or  1^5  of  the  height  of  the  hill.  The  upper  canal  is 
connected  with  the  lower  at  fifty  or  one  hundred  places  by  sluices,  in  each 
of  which  is  a  water-wheel;  and,  as  the  upper  canal  is  always  kept  full,  each 
sluice  will  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  pass  through  it  to  the  lower 
canal  to  keep  its  wheel  running,  and  if  any  wheel  gets  out  of  order  it  in  no 
way  affects  the  others.  Mr.  Edison  is  now  engaged  in  laying  five  hundred 
miles  of  underground  mains  in  the  city  of  New  York,  under  agreement  to 
furnish  each  dwelling  with  light  at  the  same  rate  as  gas  is  now  furnished. 

"  The  arc-lamp  is  more  economical  than  the  incandescent  lamp  for  the 
reason  that  it  admits  of  electrical  action  of  greater  intensity;  thus  producing 
heat  of  a  higher  temperature  and  lessening  the  quantity  expended,  while  in- 
creasing the  brilliancy  of  the  light.  As  at  present  constituted,  the  carbons 
of  the  incandescent  lamps  will  not  endure  the  high  temperature  of  the  arc- 
lamps,  hence  require  a  greater  quantity  of  electricity  at  a  comparatively 
low  temperature;  but  their  construction  will  in  time  undoubtedly  be  so  im- 
proved as  to  render  them  more  economical. 

"  The  incandescent  light  admits  of  unlimited  sub-division,  because  the 
circuit  is  not  broken;  hence  the  resistance  is  only  that  of  the  conducting 
wires;  while  the  arc-light  is  limited  in  division  because  it  only  acts  by  the 
breaking  of  the  circuit.  Mr.  Brush,  however,  of  the  Brush  Arc-Light  Com- 
pany, claims  to  have  lately  increased  the  power  of  his  machines  by  so  ar- 
ranging the  commutator  as  to  cut  off  that  portion  of  the  wires  which  is  in- 
active during  polarization,  thus  reducing  the  resistance;, and  ne  also  claims 
to  have  discovered  a  way  by  which  he  can  store  the  superfluous  electricity 
which  his  machine  generates  during  the  day,  and  make  use  of  it  during  the 
night,  so  as  not  to  necessitate  the  running  of  the  machine  at  night." 

The  Sewing  Machine. — Like  the  stocking-frame,  which  in  principle 
it  closely  resembles,  we  owe  the  invention  of  the  sewing  machine  to  the  in- 
genuity of  a  poor  mechanic,  striving  to  lessen  the  labor  which  he  saw  was  a 
real  hardship  upon  his  wife  and  other  poor  women.  Elias  Howe,  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  surrounded  by  a  young  family  for  whom  he  was  obliged 
to  labor  during  the  day,  devoted  his  after-hours  to  the  construction  of  a 
sewing  machine.  This  was  about  the  year  1841,  and  his  career  since  that 
period  forms  a  striking  chapter  in  the  annals  of  intelligent  labor,  and  fur- 
nishes another  proof  of  the  saying  that  "  fact  is  stranger  than  fiction."  After 
incessant  labor,  during  the  latter  part  of  which  he  and  his  family  were  in- 
debted to  a  friend  for  the  means  of  subsistence,  he  completed  the  first  work- 
ing sewing  machine,  the  patent  for  which  was  granted  to  him  in  May,  1841. 
He  did  not  succeed  in  inducing  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  see  the 
value  of  his  patent,  and  came  to  England  where,  after  patenting  it  there 
also,  he  met  with  so  much  discouragement  that  he  sold  the  patent  for  £250 
and  a  royalty  of  £3  per  machine  to  a  staymaker,  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Cheapside, 
London,  who  used  it  successfully  in  his  own  business,  but  did  so  little 
towards  making  it  public  that  for  several  years  its  existence  was  only  known 
to  a  very  few  individual  manufacturers.  When  Howe  reached  his  own 
country  again,  he  found  his  American  patent  pirated  by  a  wealthy  company; 
but  with  admirable  spirit  he  asserted  his  rights,  and  succeeded  in  establish- 


GREAT   INVENTIONS. 


353 


ing  them;  and  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  his  talent,  industry  and  perse- 
verance were  rewarded,  for  he  became  a  wealthy  man.  Howe's  machine 
worked  what  is  called  the  lock-stitch,  but  since  his  invention  became 
known,  numerous  improvements  and  modifications  have  been  introdiiced  by 
other  inventors.  The  principal  of  these  are  as  follows:  1.  Machines  which 
sew  with  one  thread;  of  which  one  kind  makes  the  through-and-through  or 
shoemaker's  sttich,  the  thread  being  held  and  pushed  through  with  pincers, 
one  pair  on  each  side  of  the  material  to  be  sewn.  The  needle  is  pointed  at 
each  end,  and  being  pushed  through  by  the  pincers  on  one  side,  is  taken 
hold  of  by  the  corresponding  pair  on  the  other,  and  the  thread  is  thus  pulled 
through  backwards  and  forwards.  Only  a  small  length  of  thread  can  be 
used  by  this  machine,  hence  it  is  of  but  limited  application.  2.  Another 
single-thread  machine  makes  the  running-stitch.  In  this,  the  needle  is 
stationary,  and  receives  a  continuous  supply  of  thread  from  a  reel,  the  two 
small-toothed  wheels  are  so  arranged  that  their  teeth,  pressing  into  one  an- 
other, crimp  the  two  pieces  of 
cloth,  and  push  them  forward 
against  the  point  of  the  needle, 
which,  as  it  gets  filled,  is  relieved 
by  the  operator,  who  keeps 
drawing  the  sewn  cloth  off  at  the 
eye-end  of  the  needle.  This  ma- 
chine answers  admirably  in  cases 
where  loose  tacking  is  required. 
It  is  the  invention  of  an  Ameri- 
can of  the  name  of  Bostwick.  3. 
The  chain  or  tambour  stitch  is 
also  a  single-thread  stitch, 
the  machine  for  which  was  in- 
vented by  M.  Thimmonier,  a 
Frenchman,  in  1848.  In  this,  the 
thread  is  looped  upon  itself  by 
means  of  a  curved  shuttle  after 
it  has  passed  through  the  cloth. 
This  kind  of  stitch,  though  very 
useful  for  some  kinds  of  work,  is 
easily  pulled  out.  4.  Wheeler 
and  Wilson's  is  a  double-thread  machine,  and  besides  the  vertical  eye- 
pointed  needle,  has  a  curved  shuttle  or  hook  working  below,  with  & 
revolving  reel  inside  its  curve.  The  reel  is  of  metal,  each  side  being  con- 
vex externally;  and  so  adjusted  on  the  axle  that  the  edges  are  so  near  to- 
gether as  to  admit  only  one  thickness  of  the  thread  to  pass  through.  It  fits 
easily  within  the  nearly  circular  hook,  and  gives  off  its  thread  as  required. 
The  thread  passes  partly  round  the  outer  edge  of  the  hook  upon  a  slightly 
grooved  bevel  which  forms  a  loop,  and  passes  it  between  the  needle  and  the 
thread  which  it  carries  with  it  in  descending;  the  loop  is  held  in  position  as 
the  needle  ascends,  and  the  cloth  being  moved  on,  the  next  descent  of 
the  needle  takes  it  through  the  loop  and  receives  another  below  it,  which 
renders  the  first  one  tightly  locked.  Sewing  machines  have  been  patented 
in  America  and  England  by  another  American  named  Blake  for  sewing  the 
soles  on  boots  and  shoes;  and  so  rapid  are  they  in  their  work,  that  it  is 
said  during  the  war  in  the  United  States  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pairs  of  soles  have  been  sewed  on  army  boots  in  one  day  by  a  single 


SHUTTLE  OF  THE  WHEELER  AND  WILSON 
SEWING  MACHINE. 


354       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

machine.  Special  sewing  machines  are  also  in  use  for  sewing  the  upper 
leathers  of  boots  and  shoes,  for  gloves,  for  embroidery,  and  for  various 
other  purposes. 

The  Telephone.— This  instrument  is  designed  to  convey  sounds  to  a 
distance  by  electricity.  Sound  being  propagated  by  vibration  of  air,  the 
scientific  requirement  of  the  telephone  is  that  it  should,  by  the  vibration  of 
a  tongue  or  membrane,  represent  different  sounds;  and  to  do  this  the  cur- 
rents of  electricity  must  vary  continuously  in  the  proportion  of  the  velocity 
of  the  movements  of  air  producing  the  sounds.  In  the  telephone  of  Ileis,  of 
Frankfurt,  produced  in  1860,  the  "  transmitter "  consisted  of  a  membrane 
which,  by  means  of  a  simple  contact-breaker,  sent  a  series  of  currents  along 
the  line,  producing  in  the  "  receiver  "  a  series  of  ticks,  their  varying  rapidity 
reproducing,  though  somewhat-  faintly,  the  quality  and  tone  of  the  trans- 
mitted note.  In  1874,  Elisha  Gray,  of  Chicago,  adapted  the  telephonic  prin- 
ciple to  "  nraltiplex  "  telegraphy  over  a  single  wire,  the  vibrations  of  a 
series  of  tuning  forks  affording  the  different  tones  in  which  several  individ- 
ual messages  could  be  simultaneously  sent.  The  telephone  of  A.  Graham 
Bell,  an  Edinburgh  gentleman  resident  in  America,  attracted  much  attention 
at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Exhibition.  The  transmitter  ehows  a  mem- 
brane, bearing  on  its  center  a  small  piece  of  iron,  placed  opposite  the  poles 
of  an  electro-magnet.  The  receiver,  an  upright  tube  enclosing  an  electro- 
magnet, has  fixed  on  the  top  a  thin  disc  of  iron,  left  free  to  vibrate.  The 
sounds  are  produced  by  the  vibrations  of  this  disc,  corresponding  to  cur- 
rente  of  electricity  from  the  other  end,  sounds  made  before  the  transmitter 
being  reproduced  with  startling  fidelity.  Speeches  made  and  songs  sung 
have  been  distinctly  heard  at  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles;  and  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  May,  1876,  Mr.  Bell 
stated  that  when  two  persons  spoke  before  the  transmitter,  both  sounds 
could  be  distinguished  at  the  other  end.  The  telephone  has  come  into  gen- 
eral use  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
most  important  and  valuable  of  modern  inventions. 

The  Microphone. — This  instrument,  invented  in  1878  by  Professor 
Hughes,  doeg  for  faint  sounds  what  the  microscope  does  for  matter  too 
•mall  for  sight— the  fall  of  a  bit  of  tissue  paper  or  the  tread  of  a  fly  being 
rendered  audible  at  many  miles  distance.  In  principle  the  microphone 
illustrates  the  action  of  sonorous  vibrations  on  the  strength  of  an  electric 
current.  One  of  the  most  sensitive  substances  for  microphonic  action  is 
willow-charcoal,  plunged  in  a  state  of  white  heat  into  mercury.  The  theory 
is  that  in  a  homogeneous  conductor  the  compressions  and  dilatations  of  the 
molecules  balance  each  other,  and  no  variation  of  current  ensues,  while 
under  minute  sub-division,  with  electrical  continuity,  sonorous  waves 
affect  the  strength  of  an  electric  current,  and  variations  in  the  current  re- 
produce sonorous  waves.  One  form  of  microphone  consists  of  a  piece  of 
mercury-tempered  carbon  an  inch  long,  placed  vertically  between  two  car 
bon-blocks  hollowed  to  receive  its  ends,  wires  connecting  the  blocks  wiru 
the  battery  and  the  receiver  by  which  the  sounds  are  to  be  heard.  "  A 
piece  of  willow-charcoal,"  says  the  inventor,  "  me  size  of  a  phi's  head  is 
sufficient  to  reproduce  articulate  speech."  Two  nails  laid  parallel,  with 
wire  connections,  and  a  third  nail  laid  across  them,  make  a  simple  form  of 
microphone.  A  few  cells  of  anj  form  of  battery  may  be  used.  A  continu- 
ous sound  is  made  by  the  mutual  interaction  of  the  microphone  and  tele- 


GREAT   INVENTIONS.  355 

phone,  each  instrument  in  turn  repeating  the  sound  made  by  the  other. 
Many  useful  applications  of  the  microphone  have  been  made. 

The  Cotton  Gin. — Eli  Whitney,  the  inventor  of  the  cotton  gin,  was 
born  at  Westborough,  Massachusetts,  December  8, 1765,  and  was  educated 
at  Yale  College,  where  he  paid  his  expenses  partly  by  school  teaching,  partly 
by  mechanical  labor.  Having  graduated  in  1792,  he  went  to  Georgia  as  a 
teacher;  but  finding  a  generous  patron  in  the  widow  of  General  Greene,  of 
the  revolutionary  army,  he  resided  upon  her  estate  and  studied  law.  The 
cotton  culture  at  this  period,  especially  that  of  the  best  kind,  the  "  green 
seed,"  was  limited  by  the  slow  and  difficult  work  of  separating  the  cotton 
from  the  seed  by  hand;  but  Mrs.  Greene  told  her  complaining  neighbors  that 
she  was  sure  Whitney  could  help  them  out  of  their  trouble,  for  he  could 
make  anything.  At  their  desire,  he  set  to  work  under  great  disadvantages, 
for  he  had  to  make  his  own  tools,  and  even  draw  his  own  wire;  but  the  re- 
ports of  his  success  prompted  some  lawless  people  to  break  into  his  work- 
shop and  steal  his  machine  and  get  others  made  before  he  could  secure  a 
patent.  He,  however,  formed  a  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Miller,  in  1793,  and 
went  to  Connecticut  to  manufacture  cotton  gins;  but  the  lawsuits  in  defense 
of  his  rights  took  all  his  profits,  likewise  $50,000  voted  him  by  the  State  of 
South  Carolina.  He  afterward  amassed  a  fortune  in  the  manufacture  of  fire- 
arms, but  received  but  barren  honor  from  the  gin,  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  whole  series  of  inventions  connected  with  the  cotton  manufacture.  The 
machine  invented  by  Mr.  Whitney  is  composed  of  a  hopper,  having  one  side 
formed  of  strong  parallel  wires  placed  so  close  together  as  to  exclude  the 
passage  of  the  seeds  from  within.  The  cotton  is  dragged  through  the  aper- 
tures by  means  of  circular  saws  attached  to  a  large  roller,  and  made  to  re- 
volve between  the  wires,  the  seeds  sinking  to  the  bottom  of  the  hopper. 

The  Spinning  Jenny. — The  modern  system  of  cotton  manufacture 
dates  no  further  back  than  about  1760.  Prior  to  the  mechanical  inventions 
of  Hargreaves,  Arkwright,  Crompton  and  Cartwright,  the  arts  of  spuming 
and  weaving  were  entirely  domestic,  and  the  instruments  of  manipulation 
much  the  same  as  those  which  had  been  in  use  in  the  East  for  centuries  be- 
fore. By  means  of  the  ancient  distaff  and  spindle,  or  the  more  recent  spin- 
ning-wheel, only  one  thread  at  a  time  was  produced,  and  the  process,  as 
may  be  imagined,  was  tedious,  and  not  very  remunerative;  besides  which, 
only  a  very  inferior  yarn  was  the  result.  Altogether  in  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  machinery  for  spinning  was  much  more  imperfect 
than  that  for  weaving,  and  the  weavers  of  the  time  were  often  at  a  stand  for 
want  of  yarn  to  go  on  with. 

This  state  of  things  had  long  occupied  the  attention  of  the  thinking  por- 
tion of  the  spinners,  but  without  any  practical  result  until  the  invention  of 
the  "  jenny,"  by  Hargreaves,  about  1767.  By  this  machine,  eight  threads  at 
a  time  could  be  spun  against  the  one  of  the  spinning- wheel.  Hargreaves 
was  much  abused  by  the  populace  of  his  native  town  and  neighborhood,  who 
feared  that  the  invention  would  deprive  them  of  all  employment;  the  ma- 
chine was  destroyed,  and  the  inventor  compelled  to  leave  his  birthplace. 
Genius,  however,  ultimately  triumphed,  and  the  "  spinning  jenny  "  was 
patented  at  Nottingham  in  1770.  The  year  previously,  Arkwright  had  pat- 
ented his  "  water-frame,"  or  "  throstle,"  for  spinning  by  rollers,  by  means 
of  which  a  stronger  and  much  firmer  yarn  was  produced.  It  was  about 
this  period  that  fabrics  composed  entirelv  of  cotton  were  woyep  for  the  first 


866        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

time,  the  "jenny  "  supplying  the  weft,  and  the  "  throstle  "  the  warp.  A  few 
years  later,  Mr.  Crompton  brought  out  a  new  piece  of  mechanism,  which  he 
styled  the  "  mule  jenny,"  from  its  combining  the  [principles  of  both  Har- 
greaves'  and  Arkwright's  patents;  but  it  had  an  advantage  over  both,  inso- 
much as  it  produced  a  much  finer  yarn  than  either.  The  "  mule  "  came  into 
full  play  in  or  about  1780,  which  is  the  period  assigned  for  the  birth  of  the 
muslin  trade.  There  was  now  no  longer  a  scarcity  of  yarn;  the  fear  was 
that  that  there  would  be  too  much,  for  it  was  clear  that  the  hand-loom 
weavers  of  the  time  could  nut  keep  up  with  the  improved  spinning  ma- 
chinery. But  the  invention  of  the  "  power  loom,"  by  Dr.  Cartwright,  in 
1785,  set  aside  all  doubts  in  this  respect. 

The  first  "  mule  jenny  "  contained  about  thirty  spindles,  which,  instead 
of  being  stationary,  as  in  the  "jenny"  and  "throstle,"  were  placed  on  a 
carriage,  which  was  moved  outwards  in  order,  while  twisting,  to  increase 
the  fineness  of  the  thread,  and  inwards  again  to  wind  the  yarn  on  the  spin- 
dles. This  required  the  constant  attendance  of  a  spinner  to  wheel  the  car- 
riage backwards  and  forwards;  but  subsequent  improvements  have  gone  so 

far  as  to  produce  what 
is  called  the  self-act- 
ing mule,  two  or  three 
of  which  only  require 
the  assistance  of  one 
person,  generally  a 
boy  or  girl,  whose 
place  it  is  to  piece  any 
of  the  threads  which 
may  break  during 
spinning.  Mules  of  this 
construction  are  made 
with  as  many  as  one 
thousand  or  two  thou- 

SPINNING  JENNY.  8and    spindles,  some- 

times  more;  and  with 
the  self-actor,  as  now  improved,  a  single  thread  has  been  produced  meas- 
uring upwards  of  one  thousand  miles  in  length,  and  yet  weighing  but  one 
pound. 

The  Type-Setting1  Machine. — The  first  type-composing  machine 
on  the  records  of  the  English  Patent  Office  appears  to  be  that  of  Mr.  W. 
Church,  and  the  specification  of  his  patent  is  dated  March,  1822.  This,  after 
a  lapse  ot  twenty  years,  was  followed  by  a  number  of  others,  scarcely  a 
year  passing  without  one  or  more  being  made  the  subject  of  a  patent.  For 
at  least  half  a  century,  therefore,  the  construction  of  a  useful  type-setting 
machine  has  been  a  problem  which  a  number  of  ingenious  men  have  tried 
to  solve,  but  it  is  only  within  the  last  year  or  two  that  there  has  been  any- 
thing more  than  the  mere  appearance  of  success.  If  the  reader  will  look 
carefully  at  a  page  of  printed  matter,  he  will  notice  that  the  spaces  between 
the  words  are  not  equal,  and  he  will  readily  understand  that  to  reduce  this 
inequality  to  a  minimum,  requires  skill  and  experience  if  the  work  is  to  go 
on  swiftly.  It  is  in  the  doing  of  this,  which  is  called  "justifying,"  where  a 
machine  fails,  because  another  operator  must  afterward  space  the  machine 
setting  into  lines  of  equal  length.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to  construct  a 
which  will,  by  some  mechanical  arrangement,  drop  any  required 


GREAT   INVENTIONS.  357 

letter  from  a  series  of  files  or  reservoirs  of  types,  through  a  channel  which 
conveys  to  a  composing  stick  —that  is,  which  will  set  up  type  in  any  required 
order,  but  with  exactly  equal  spaces  between  the  words;  but  the  difficulty  of 
justifying  has  not  yet  been  got  over.  Still,  as  that  operation  can  be  per- 
formed by  girls  at  comparatively  little  cost,  there  is  a  decided  advantage  in 
favor  of  the  machine. 

In  the  early  composing-machine  by  Church,  the  types  are  arranged  in 
files  in  a  case  at  the  top,  each  file  being  directly  over  a  slit  in  a  horizontal 
frame.  One  of  a  number  of  jacks  protrudes  through  each  of  these  slita, 
each  jack  Ijeiug  connected  with  a  key  in  a  manner  somewhat  similar  to  the 
jacks  and  keys  of  a  harpsichord.  On  the  depressing  of  any  particular  key, 
the  undermost  typo  of  the  file  is  pushed  into  a  race,  from  which  it  passes  to 
a  composing  stick.  It  is  surprising  how  closely  this  description  conveys  to 
us  the  leading  idea  in  most  of  the  type-composing  machines  invented  since 
1822.  Hattersley's  machine,  for  example,  which  was  patented  in  1857,  has 
somewhat  analogous  movements,  but  the  keys  are  arranged  more  like  those 
of  a  concertina,  and  the  details  are  different.  This  machine,  which  occupies 
a  space  of  about  two  feet  by  three,  has  a  horizontal  top  stage  on  which  ia 
placed  a  partitioned  tray,  containing  the  rows  of  types  running  from  back  to 
front,  each  row  being  of  course  all  the  same  letter.  Descending  vertically 
along  the  front  of  this  tray  is  a  series  of  as  many  wires  with  pistons  as  there 
are  rows  of  types,  an  J  these  pistons  are  depressed  by  the  keys  acting  by 
bell-cranks,  and  then  returned  to  their  first  position  by  means  of  india-rub- 
ber bands  or  springs.  A  propeller  kept  in  a  state  of  tension  by  an  india- 
rubber  spring  is  placed  in  the  rear  of  each  row  of  types,  and  draws  them 
forward  to  the  piston.  When  the  girl  working  the  machine  presses  down,  say 
an  e  key,  it  depresses  the  e  piston,  which  pulls  down  with  it  an  e  type,  and 
drops  it  into  a  tube  or  channel  which  conveys  it  to  what  represents  the  com- 
posing stick,  and  so  on  with  every  other  letter,  figure,  comma,  or  "space." 
The  series  of  channels  converge  to  a  focus  or  common  outlet,  through  which 
every  type  in  succession  passes  to  its  proper  place.  Machines  on  Hattersley's 
principle,  with  the  details  much  improved  by  Mr.  Fraser,  of  Edinburgh,  are 
at  present  in  use.  With  one  of  these  machines  a  girl  can  compose  from 
"  copy  "  at  the  rate  of  from  ten  thousand  to  twelve  thousand  types  per  hour, 
but  this  rate  can  hardly  be  maintained  continuously,  the  strain  of  such 
rapid  setting  being  too  great  for  the  operator.  The  types  are  set  in  long 
lines,  and  require  afterwards  to  be  "justified."  This  is  done  by  another 
girl,  who,  with  the  aid  of  a  slip  of  brass  of  the  desired  length  of  the  line, 
forms  the  matter  into  pages,  spacing  out  each  line  as  she  proceeds. 

The  want  of  an  efficient  distributing  machine  has  hitherto  been  the  great 
drawback  to  the  adoption  of  composers,  but  Mr.  Fraser  has  met  this  diffi- 
culty by  constructing  a  distributer  which  bids  fair  to  supply  the  want.  It 
separates  the  different  letters  by  a  series  of  switches  acted  upon  by  keys 
similar  to  those  of  the  composing  machine.  On  the  depression  of  a  key, 
the  corresponding  switch  is  opened,  and  the  type  guided  to  its  proper  com- 
partment ia  the  composing-machine  reservoir.  Type-setting  and  distrib- 
uting machines  like  the  above  in  their  plan  of  working  have  been  in  opera- 
tion for  several  years.  Another  composing  machine,  by  Mr.  Mackie,  of 
Warrington,  England,  deserves  notice  for  the  ingenuity  shown  in  its  con- 
struction. It  is  much  more  elaborate  than  any  of  those  above  referred  to. 
The  first  operation  is  to  perforate  slips  of  stiff  paper,  which  is  done  by  a 
separate  machine.  These  slips,  when  perforated,  represent  the  words  to  be 
composed,  and  are  then  passed  to  the  composing-machine  proper.  In  it  the 


458       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


types  are  placed  by  hand  in  a  series  of  boxes  above  the  circumference  of  a 
large  wheel,  which  is  made  to  revolve,  and  at  each  revolution  a  certain  part, 
acting  in  concert  with  the  previously  perforated  paper,  comes  in  contact 
with  mechanism  which  releases  the  desired  types  at  the  proper  time,  and 
carries  them  forward  to  a  point,  where  they  are  pushed  off  into  lines  in  the 
composing  stick. 

Tlie  Type-Writer — The  writing  machine  called  the  Type- Writer  waa 
invented  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  in  1867,  by  C.  Latham  Sholes,  Samuel  W. 
Soule  and  Carlos  Glidden,  and  patented  in  1868.  Mr.  Gliddeu's  suggestion 
that  such  a  machine  ought  to  be  made  was  his  principal  contribution  to  the 
enterprise.  It  was  Mr.  Soule  who  suggested  pivoted  types  sei  in  a  circle, 
and  Mr.  Sholes  who  suggested  the  letter-spacing  device.  The  other  minor 
details  of  the  first  crude  machine  were  the  work  of  Mr.  Soule.  The  labor 
spent  in  experimenting  extended  "over  a  period  of  nearly  ten  years,  during 
which  many  machines  were  made  and  condemned,  although  each  was  an 
improvement  upon  its  predecessor.  But  when  at  length  the  first  complete 

and  finished  type- 
writer was  made  and 
offered  to  the  public 
by  Messrs.  E.  Kem- 
ington  &  Sons,  of 
Ilion,  New  York,  to 
whom  its  manufac- 
ture had  been  en- 
trusted, it  was  recog- 
nized at  once  as  one 
of  the  great  inven- 
tions of  modern 
times.  The  types  are 
at  the  end  of  levers, 
so  arranged  as  to 
strike  at  a  common 
printing  point,  the  operator  having  but  to  depress  keys,  arranged  with  refer- 
ence to  rapidity  of  motion  in  the  necessary  order.  The  paper  is  passed 
along  by  a  species  of  clock-work  machinery.  An  expert  operator  can  write 
with  this  machine  more  than  twice  as  fast  as  with  the  pen.  It  is  in  much 
favor  with  business  men,  who,  by  employing  an  operator  likewise  familiar 
with  stenography,  may  in  a  few  moments  dictate  a  mass  of  correspondence 
which  would  otherwise  perhaps  consume  a  day's  time  in  execution.  It  is 
likewise  of  inestimable  service  to  lawyers  and  others,  for  by  the  use  of  car- 
bon paper,  several  copies  of  any  writing  or  instrument  executed  upon  the 
type-writer  may  be  taken.  The  Standard  Type- Writer  is  still  manufactured 
under  the  original  patents  by  Messrs.  E.  Bernington  &  Sons,  and  sold  ex- 
clusively by  the  firm  of  Wyckoff,  Seamane  &  Benedict,  of  New  York,  who  are 
sole  agents  for  the  world. 

The  Mower  and  Reaper.— In  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era 
Pliny  the  elder  found  a  reaping  machine  in  Gaul.  He  described  it  as  a  van, 
with  projecting  teeth  on  the  edge,  which  was  driven  upon  two  wheel* 
through  the  standing  grain  by  an  ox  yoked  in  a  reverse  position.  This  rude 
affair  tore  off  the  ears,  abandoning  the  straw.  Four  centuries  later  Palla- 
dius  found  a  similar  appliance  for  reaping  grain  in  Gaol. 


THE  TYPE-WKITEB. 


GREAT   INVENTIONS.  359 

In  modern  times  the  idea  of  a  mechanical  reaper  appears  to  have  origi- 
nated with  a  Mr.  Capel  Lloft,  an  Englishman,  who,  in  1785,  suggested  a  ma- 
chine very  little  superior  to  the  rude  appliance  above  described.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century  numerous  patents  were  granted  in  Great 
Britain  for  mechanical  reapers,  and  the  llev.  Patrick  Bell,  a  Scotchman,  in 
^826,  constructed  a  simple  machine,  several  features  of  which  are  observ- 
able in  the  reapers  of  the  present  day.  All  of  these  machines,  however,  were 
more  or  less  crude  and  experimental,  and  the  real  credit  for  the  invention 
of  the  mower  and  reaper  is  due  to  two  Americans,  Hussey  and  McCormick. 

In  1833  Obed  Hussey  invented  the  reciprocating  wave-edged  knife,  and 
his  machine,  having  been  tried  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  was  patented  the  same 
,vear.  In  1834,  C.  M.  McCormick,  a  Virginian,  patented  a  reaper  which 
comprised  many  improvements,  but  in  which  Mr.  Hussey's  knife  was 
adopted.  In  the  early  days  of  the  reaper  the  sheaves  were  delivered  di- 
rectly in  the  rear  of  the  machine,  whereby  a  sufficient  number  of  men  were 
required  in  the  harvest  field  to  bind  the  grain  as  fast  as  cut.  Subsequently 
the  platform  of  the  machine  was  made  of  a  quadrant  shape,  the  sheaves  be- 
ing delivered  at  the  side.  The  delivery  of  the  sheaves  by  manual  labor  was 
early  abandoned,  and  many  improvements  in  the  self-raking  attachments 
were  invented  and  patented.  In  recent  years  the  entire  attention  of  the 
manufacturers  of  patented  harvesters  has  been  devoted  to  the  invention  of 
an  attachment  for  binding  the  grain  as  it  is  cut.  Some  of  these  binders  use 
wire,  others  cord,  the  latter  being  preferred. 

The  Sand  Blast. — Among  the  wonderful  and  useful  inventions  of  the 
times  is  the  common  sand  blast.  Suppose  you  desire  to  letter  a  piece  of 
marble  for  a  gravestone;  you  cover  the  stone  with  a  sheet  of  wax  no  thicker 
than  a  wafer,  then  cut  in  the  wax  the  name,  date,  etc.,  leaving  the  marble 
exposed.  Now  pass  it  under  the  blast  and  the  wax  will  not  be  injured  at 
all,  but  the  sand  will  cut  the  letters  deep  into  the  stone.  Or,  if  you  desire 
raised  letters,  a  flower  or  other  emblem,  cut  the  letters,  flowers,  etc.,  in  the 
wax,  and  stick  them  upon  the  stone;  then  pass  the  stone  under  the  blast 
and  the  sand  will  cut  it  away.  Bemove  the  wax  and  you  will  have  the  lei- 
ters  raised.  Take  a  piece  of  French  plate  glass,  say  two  feet  by  six,  and 
cover  it  with  flue  lace;  pass  it  under  the  blast  and  not  a  thread  of  the  lace 
will  be  injured,  but  the  sand  will  cut  deep  into  the  glass  wherever  it  is  not 
covered  with  lace.  Now  remove  the  lace  and  you  have  a  very  delicate  and 
beautiful  figure  raised  upon  the  glass.  In  this  way  beautiful  figures  of  all 
kinds  are  cut  in  glass,  and  at  a  little  expense.  The  workmen  can  hold  their 
hands  under  the  blast  without  harm,  even  when  it  is  rapidly  cutting  away 
the  hardest  glass,  iron,  or  stone,  but  they  must  look  out  for  their  finger 
nails,  for  they  will  be  whittled  off  right  hastily.  If  they  put  on  steel  thim- 
bles to  protect  the  nails,  it  will  do  little  good,  for  the  sand  will  soon  whittle 
them  away,  but  if  they  wrap  a  piece  of  soft  cotton  around  them  they  are 
safe.  You  will  at  once  see  the  philosophy  of  it.  The  sand  whittles  away 
and  destroys  any  hard  substance,  even  glass,  but  does  not  affect  substances 
that  are  soft  and  yielding,  like  wax,  cotton,  or  fine  lace,  or  even  the  human 
hand. 

Accidental  Discoveries Valuable  discoveries  have  been  made  and 

valuable  inventions  suggested  by  the  veriest  accidents  An  alchemist, 
while  seeking  to  discover  a  mixture  of  earths  that  would  make  'the  moet 
durable  crucibles,,  one  day  found  that  he  had  made  porcelain. 


360       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  power  of  lenses,  as  applied  to  the  telescope,  was  discovered  by  a 
watch-maker's  apprentice.  While  holding  spectacle  glasses  between  hia 
thumb  and  his  finger  he  was  startled  at  the  sudden  enlarged  appearance  oi 
a  neighboring  church  spire. 

The  art  of  etching  upon  glass  was  discovered  by  a  Nuremberg  glasscut- 
ter.  By  accident  a  few  drops  of  aqua  fortis  fell  upon  his  spectacles.  He 
noticed  that  the  glass  corroded  and  softened  where  the  acid  had  touched  it. 
That  was  hint  enough.  He  drew  figures  upon  the  glass  with  varnish,  ap- 
plied the  corroding  fluid,  then  cut  away  the  glass  around  the  drawing. 
When  the  varnish  was  removed  the  figure  appeared  raised  upon  a  dark 
ground. 

Mezzotinto  owed  its  invention  to  the  simple  accident  of  the  gun-barrel  of 
a  sentry  becoming  rusty  with  dew.  The  swaying  of  a  chandelier  in  a  cathe- 
dral suggested  to  Galileo  the  application  of  a  pendulum. 

The  art  of  lithographing  was  'perfected  through  a  suggestion  made  by 
accident.  A  poor  musician  was  curious  to  know  whether  music  could  not 
be  etched  upon  stone  as  well  as  upon  copper.  After  he  had  prepared  his 
slab  his  mother  asked  him  to  make  a  memorandum  of  such  clothes  as  he 
proposed  to  be  sent  away  to  be  washed.  Not  having  pen,  ink  and  paper 
convenient,  he  wrote  the  list  on  the  stone,  intending  to  make  a  copy  at  hia 
leisure.  A  few  days  later,  when  about  to  clean  the  stone,  he  wondered 
what  effect  aqua  fortis  would  have  upon  it.  He  applied  the  acid,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  saw  the  writing  standing  out  in  full  relief.  The  next  step  was 
simply  to  ink  the  stone  and  take  off  an  impression.  Hence  the  lithograph. 

It  is  said  that  the  rolling  of  cold  iron  was  first  suggested  by  the  fact  that 
a  workman  who  was  placing  a  piece  of  hot  iron  in  the  rolls  carelessly  per- 
mitted his  tongs  to  be  drawn  in.  He  noticed  that  they  were  rolled,  and  not 
broken.  He  called  the  attention  of  the  superintendent  to  the  occurrence, 
and  this  led  to  investigation  and  experiment  and  the  discovery  that  cold 
rolled  iron  is  equal  to  steel  for  shafting  purposes.  The  process  of  rolling 
iron  cold  was  not  long  afterward  patented,  and  millions  of  dollars  have 
been  made  out  of  the  patent. 

There  are  many  similar  instances  where  observing  workmen  have  called 
attention  to  valuable  processes.  A  signal  one  was  in  the  early  period  of  the 
cotton  manufacture,  when  a  good  deal  of  trouble  was  caused  by  the  cotton 
sticking  to  the  bobbins.  All  the  workmen  in  the  mill  were  delayed  by  the 
necessity  of  stopping  work  to  clean  the  bobbins.  At  last  one  -workman 
found  a  way  to  obviate  the  trouble.  He,  atd  he  alone  in  all  the  mill,  had 
clean  bobbins.  For  a  long  time  he  kept  his  secret  to  himself.  He  finally 
revealed  it  on  the  promise  of  a  pint  of  beer  a  day  for  life.  His  secret  was  to 
"  chalk  the  bobbins."  That  little  scraping  of  salt  on  the  bobbins  saved  mil- 
lions of  dollars  a  year,  and  the  observing  workman  got  not  only  his  beer, 
but  a  competence. 

The  Age  of  Inventions.— The  number  of  inventions  that  have  been 
made  during  the  past  fifty  years  is  perhaps  unprecedented  hi  the  history  of 
the  world.  Of  course  inventions  of  benefit  to  the  human  race  have  been 
made  in  all  ages  since  man  was  created;  but  looking  back  for  half  a  hun- 
dred years,  how  many  more  are  crowded  into  the  past  fifty  than  into  any 
other  fifty  since  recorded  history!  The  perfection  of  the  locomotive,  and 
the  now  world  traversing  steamship,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  the  audi- 
phone,  the  sewing  machine,  the  photograph,  chromo-lithographic  printing, 
She  cylinder  printing  press,  the  elevator  for  hotels  and  other  many  etoried 


GK.EAT   INVENTIONS.  3C1 

buildings,  the  cotton  gin  and  the  spinning  jenny,  the  reaper  and  mower,  the 
steam  thresher,  the  steam  fire  engine,  the  improved  process  for  making 
steel,  the  application  of  chloroform  and  ether  to  destroy  sensibility  in  pain- 
ful surgery  cases,  and  so  on  through  a  long  catalogue. 

Nor  are  we  yet  done  in  the  field  of  invention  and  discovery.  The  appli- 
cation of  coal  gas  and  petroleum  to  heating  and  cooking  operations  is  only 
trembling  on  the  verge  of  successful  experiment,  the  introduction  of  the 
steam  from  a  great  central  reservoir  to  general  use  for  heating  and  cooking 
is  foreshadowed  as  among  the  coming  events,  the  artificial  production  of 
butter  has  already  created  consternation  among  dairymen,  the  navigation  of 
the  air  by  some  device  akin  to  our  present  balloon  would  also  seem  to  be 
prefigured,  and  the  propulsion  of  machinery  by  electricity  is  even  now 
clearly  indicated  by  the  march  of  experiment.  There  are  some  problems 
we  have  hitherto  deemed  impossible,  but  are  the  mysteries  of  even  the 
most  improbable  of  them  more  subtle  to  the  grasp  than  that  of  the  ocean 
cable  or  that  of  the  photograph  or  the  telephone  ?  "We  talk  by  cable  with 
an  ocean  rolling  between;  we  speak  in  our  own  voices  to  friends  one  hun- 
dred miles  or  more  from  where  we  articulate  before  the  microphone. 

Under  the  blazing  sun  of  July  we  produce  ice  by  chemical  means,  rival- 
ing the  most  solid  and  crystalline  production  of  nature.  Our  surgeons 
graft  the  skin  from  one  person's  arm  to  the  face  of  another,  and  it  adheres 
and  becomes  an  integral  portion  of  his  body.  We  niako  a  mile  of  white 
printing  paper,  and  send  it  on  a  spool  that  a  perfecting  printing  press  un- 
winds and  prints,  and  cuta,  and  delivers  to  you  folded  and  counted,  many 
thousands  per  hour.  Of  a  verity  this  is  the  age  of  invention,  nor  has  the 
world  reached  a  stopping-place  yet. 

Coincidences  in  Inventions.— Coincidences  in  invention  and  dis- 
covery are  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  When  any  notable  advance 
is  made  in  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature,  or  in  applying  that  knowl- 
edge, old  or  new,  to  the  service  of  man,  it  is  hardly  ever  one  person  alone 
who  makes  the  discovery  or  the  application.  Almost  always  more  than  one 
claimant  appears,  and  frequently  several  make  good  their  claims  to  the 
honor  of  having  pursued  independently  and  to  valuable  results  the  same 
line  of  thought  or  experiment  that  has  made  one  of  their  number  famous  by 
associating  his  name  permanently  with  the  great  invention  or  discovery.  Le 
Verrier  and  Adams  almost  simultaneously  reasoned  out  the  existence  of  the 
planet  Neptune,  and  directed  astronomical  observers  how  to  point  their  tele- 
scopes in  order  to  find  it.  Professor  Morse's  title  to  distinction  as  the  in- 
ventor of  the  magnetic  telegraph  was  stubbornly  contested  by  men  who  had 
labored  with  the  same  idea  before  it  occurred  to  him.  Half  a  dozen  others 
had  toiled  upon  the  problem  of  steam  navigation  before  Fultou  solved  it. 
Morton,  Jackson,  and  Wells  were  experimenting  with  anaesthetics  at  the 
same  time,  and  the  merit  of  the  discovery  is  still  claimed  for  each  of  them. 
Bell  and  Gray  invented  their  respective  telephones  almost  at  the  same 
time.  Edison  and  Hughes  dispute  each  other's  claim  to  priority  in  the  in- 
vention of  the  microphone.  In  some  of  these  cases  probably  one  claimant 
has  knowingly  or  unconsciously  borrowed  something  from  his  rival;  but 
those  where  two  or  more  persons  have  pursued  independently  substantially 
the  same  line  of  research  and  experiment,  tending  to  the  same  reault,  *re 
yery  numerous. 


MINING. 


Gold. — Gold  has  been  known  and  regarded  as  the  most  precious  of  th« 
metals  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world,  and  has  heen  universally  em- 
ployed as  a  medium  of  exchange.  Although  the  quantity  of  gold  which  is 
found,  when  compared  with  that  of  many  other  metals,  is  small,  yet  there 
are  few  parts  of  the  glohe  in  which  it  does  not  occur  more  or  less  abun- 
dantly. In  the  native  state,  it  occurs  crystallized,  the  primary  form  being 
the  cube,  or  in  plates,  ramifications,  or  nodules— popularly  known  as 
nuggets — which  sometimes  are  of  very  considerable  size.  It  is  almost 
always  alloyed  with  silver,  and  sometimes  with  tellurium,  bismuth,  lead, 
etc.  It  sometimes  occurs  in  small  quantity  in  metallic  sulphides,  as  in 
galena,  iron  and  copper  pyrites. 

In  its  compact  state,  it  possesses  a  characteristic  yellow  color  and  high 
metallic  lustre,  is  nearly  as  soft  as  lead,  and  is  the  most  malleable  of  all 
metals.  It  can  be  beaten  into  leaves  of  a  thinness  not  exceeding  1-200,000, 
or,  according  to  some  authors,  1-280,000  of  an  inch,  through  which  light 
passes  with  a  green  tint;  one  grain  may  thus  be  distributed  over  fifty-six 
square  inches  of  surface,  and  the  ductility  of  the  metal  is  so  great,  that  the 
same  quantity  may  be  drawn  out  into  five  hundred  feet  of  wire. 

Gold  was,  in  all  probability,  one  of  the  earliest  discovered  of  the  metals. 
The  fact  of  its  being  found  very  generally  distributed  over  the  surface  ot  the 
earth,  and  that,  too,  in  its  simple  metallic  state,  combined  with  its  beautiful 
color,  and  many  valuable  properties,  would  cause  it  very  early  to  attract 
the  attention  of  man.  Accordingly  we  learn  that  gold  was  used  by  the  He- 
brews, the  Egyptians,  and  other  ancient  nations,  for  much  the  same  pur- 
poses as  it  is  at  the  present  day. 

Previous  to  the  great  Californian  discovery  in  1847,  Europe  was  to  a 
great  extent  supplied  with  gold  from  Mexico,  Brazil,  New  Granada,  Chili 
and  Peru  in  North  and  South  America;  a  large  quantity  was  also  obtained 
from  Asiatic  Kussia  and  the  islands  of. the  Indian  Archipelago;  the  east  and 
west  coast  of  Africa  furnished  a  less  but  still  considerable  quantity.  All 
these  countries  still  produce  gold,  but  their  total  yield,  including  Europe, 
is  only  about  one-fourth  that  of  California  and  Australia. 

The  rich  gold  region  of  California  was  discovered  in  September,  1847. 
Mr.  Marshall,  the  contractor  for  a  saw-mill  on  the  estate  of  Captain  Snter — 
a  Swiss  emigrant,  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento  Eiver— detected 
particles  of  gold  in  the  sand  of  the  mill-race,  and  on  further  examination,  it 
was  found  that  valuable  deposits  existed  throughout  the  bed  of  the  stream. 
Intelligence  of  the  discovery  soon  reached  the  town  of  San  Francisco,  whose 
scanty  population  at  once  abandoned  their  usual  occupations  to  join  in  the 
exciting  search  for  gold.  The  supply  was  soon  found  to  be  abundant  over  a 
large  area,  p.nd  emigranto  quickly  poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the  American 
continent,  r.nd  ere  long  from  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  other  European 
countries,  till  the  population  of  San  Francisco  alone  rose  from  under  two 
hundred  in  1845  to  forty  thousand  in  1858,  and  in  1870  it  waa  one  hundred 


MINING.  £63 

and  fifty  thousand.  At  first  it  was  thought  that  the  supply  of  gold  f— *ni 
this  region  would  BOOU  fail,  but  though  the  supply,  which  continued  for 
several  years  at  upwards  of  $85,000,000  per  annum,  had  ,n  1874  fallen  to 
between  six  and  seven  millions,  which,  moreover,  included  the  yield  of  the 
adjoining  States  of  Oregon,  Idaho,  Montana  and  Wyoming,  future  mining 
prospects  are  far  from  being  discouraging. 

In  1851,  before  the  excitement  of  the  Californian  discovery  had  time  to 
subside,  the  world  was  startled  by  the  announcement  of  another,  or  rather 
by  a  series  of  others,  of  not  less  importance,  in  Australia.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  not  only  Sir  R.  Murchison,  but  also  the  Eev.  W.  B.  Clarke,  a  native 
geologist,  had  pointed  out  the  likelihood  of  gold  being  found  in  the  eastern 
chain  of  the  Australian  mountains  several  years  before  the  value  of  tho 
gold  fields  near  Bathurst  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Hargraves  in  April,  1851. 
This  discovery  was  no  sooner  made,  however,  than  several  other  places  in 
Bathurst  and  the  adjoining  counties  were  found  to  contain  rich  deposits;  so 
that,  before  many  months  had  passed,  six  thousand  persons  were  employed 
at  these  diggings.  In  August  of  the  same  year,  further  discoveries  of  gold 
were  made  at  Ballarat,  in  Victoria,  which  excelled  in  richness  those  of  the 
Sydney  district;  and  these,  in  turn,  were  soon  surpassed  by  fresh  discov- 
eries in  the  Moxint  Alexander  range.  During  the  climax  of  the  excitement 
created  by  the  Victoria  gold  fields,  the  number  of  diggers  rose  to  such  a 
pitch  as  to  withdraw  for  a  time  the  great  mass  of  the  population  from  Mel- 
bourne and  Geelong. 

The  modes  of  working  adopted  at  the  first  start  of  the  diggings  were 
necessarily  rude  and  wasteful;  the  fortunes  of  the  gold  seekers,  too,  were 
of  course  very  variable  under  such  a  system,  many  of  them  having  made 
large  profits — as  much  in  a  few  instances  as  five  thousand  dollars  and  up- 
wards in  a  single  week — but  many  more  met  with  notbfng  but  disappoint- 
ment. A  more  systematic  plan  of  mining,  however,  has  now  been  intro- 
duced, by  which  the  auriferous  deposits  are  more  completely  worked  out, 
and  mining  undertakings  rendered  less  precarious.  But  notwithstanding 
the  improved  methods  of  working,  the  average  annual  produce  of  gold  in 
the  Australian  colonies  for  the  five  years  ending  1874,  was  only  about  $35,- 
000,000,  which  was  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  yields  of  some  earlier  years. 
In  the  London  International  Exhibition  of  1862  there  was  a  gilded  pyramid 
ten  feet  square  at  the  base  and  forty-five  feet  high,  representing  the  maas 
of  gold  exported  from  Victoria  between  the  1st  of  October,  1851,  and  the  1st 
of  October,  1861.  Its  weight  in  solid  gold  would  have  been  26,162,432  ounces 
troy,  which,  taken  roundly  at  $20  per  ounce,  gives  its  value  as  $523,248,640. 
The  produce  of  California  since  the  discovery  of  its  gold  fields  in  1847,  up 
to  the  present  time,  may  be  estimated  at  about  50,000,000  ounces,  and  its 
value  at  $1,000,000,000. 

Since  the  two  great  gold  regions  of  California  and  Australia  became 
known,  three  new  ones  of  considerable  promise  have  been  discovered — one 
of  them  in  British  Columbia,  the  value  of  which  was  proved  in  1858,  although 
previously  it  was  to  some  extent  known  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company;  an- 
other is  being  successfully  developed  in  Nova  Scotia;  and  a  third  in  the 
province  of  Otago,  New  Zealand.  It  would  appear  that  there  is  a  great 
similarity  between  the  general  rock  systems  and  auriferous  deposits  of  this 
region  and  those  of  Australia.  Before  passing  from  the  subject  of  recent 
gold  fields,  it  is  worth  noting  that  a  few  years  ago,  Dr.  Livingstone,  the 
African  traveler,  discovered  gold  near  Tete  on  the  Zambesi — a  district 
which  may  be  found  to  be  rich  in  the  precious  metal,  when  more  di> 


**      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

liberately  surveyed.    Its  position  is  remarkable  as  occurring  in  the  center 
of  a  coal  field. 

The  annual  produce  of  gold  in  the  whole  world  at  the  present  time  is 
somewhere  between  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred  millions  of  dol- 
lars. "Wherever  gold  is  found,  its  origin  can  generally  be  traced  to  quartz 
veins  in  the  primary  or  volcanic  rocks,  such  as  granite,  gneiss,  porphyry, 
clay-slate,  or  greenstone.  As  these  rocks  became  decomposed  by  the  action 
-ji  the  weather,  portions  of  the  auriferous  veins  were  earned  down  by 
streams  and  floods,  and  so  found  their  way  into  the  deposits  of  sand,  clay 
and  shingle  in  river  beds,  and  in  the  gullies  and  flats  of  hills.  Many  aurif- 
erous drifts  are  of  great  thickness,  formed  by  long-continued  wasting  of  the 
rocks  of  neighboring  hills,  and  therefore  require  mining  to  a  considerable 
depth.  Gold  for  the  most  part  is  found  in  small  grains,  or  scales,  called 
gold  dust;  some  of  it,  however,  in  pieces,  or  nuggets  of  considerable  size. 
One  found  at  Ballarat  in  1858,  called  "  The  Welcome,"  weighed  2,166  ounces, 
and  its  value  was  about  $40,000.  Another  discovered  in  Donolly  District, 
Australia,  in  1869,  weighed  2,520  ounces,  and  its  value  was  about  $45,000.  A 
good  deal  of  the  Mexican  and  European  gold  is  obtained  from  auriferous 
pyrites. 

Nearly  all  the  metals  except  gold  are  most  usually  found  as  ores  chemi- 
cally combined  with  oxygen,  sulphur,  or  other  substances;  and  they  there- 
fora  require  to  be  separated  by  chemical  processes,  Gold  ores,  if  we  may 
use  the  term,  require  to  be  mechanically  treated  by  the  processes  of  crush- 
ing, stamping  and  washing;  the  amalgamation  process  being  resorted  to 
when  the  gold  occurs  In  a  state  of  fine  division. 

One  kind  of  crushing  mill  consists  of  two  large  cast-iron  rollers,  which 
break  the  auriferous  quartz  into  small  pieces  as  it  passes  through  between 
them.  More  usually  now,  a  stamping  mill  is  used  with  iron-shod  piles  of 
wood,  wrought  by  an  axle  with  projecting  cams,  after  the  fashion  of  flint 
mills  and  beetling  machines.  The  oro  pounded  by  the  stamps  is  next 
washed,  and  for  doing  this  there  is  an  almost  endless  number  of  con- 
trivances. In  one  of  the  richest  quartz  districts  of  California,  it  is  carried 
by  a  current  of  water  over  coarse  woolen  blankets  laid  on  sleeping  boards. 
By  this  plan,  the  lighter  particles  of  quartz  are  carried  away,  and  the  par- 
ticles of  gold  become  entangled  in  the  fibres  of  the  wool.  The  blankets  are 
washed  at  intervals  in  a  tank,  where  the  gold  and  other  matters  caught  on 
their  surface  accumulates.  It  is  then  ready  for  the  amalgamation  process. 

The  gold  of  auriferous  drift  is  partly  extracted  by  wa»king,  but  there  still 
remain  minute  particles  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  mixed  with  the  gangue; 
indeed,  some  auriferous  soils  contain  all  their  gold  in  a  state  of  extreme 
division.  To  recover  the  gold  either  from  this  or  stamped  quartz,  an  amal- 
gam 13  made;  that  is,  it  is  mixed  with  mercury,  which  has  the  power  of 
seizing  on  and  dissolving  the  gold  particles,  however  minute.  The  mercury 
is  afterwards  distilled  off  in  a  retort,  leaving  the  gold  nearly  pure.  Gold 
has  of  late  been  profitably  extracted  from  sulphuretted  ores  by  Plattner's 
process,  which  converts  it  into  a  liquid  chloride,  and  the  gold  is  then  pre- 
cipitated from  the  solution  by  metallic  copper. 

Silver.— Silver  is  a  metal  which,  in  its  compact  state,  is  of  a  brilliant 
"..  hite  color,  possesses  the  metallic  lustre  to  a  remarkable  degree,  is  capable 
ji  being  highly  polished,  and  evolves  a  clear  ringing  sound  when  struck.  It 
is  harder  than  gold,  but  softer  than  copper,  and  is  one  of  the  most  ductile  of 
the  metals.  It  is  malleable,  may  be  hammered  into  very  thin  leaves,  and 


MINING. 


365 


may  bo  drawn  ont  into  very  fine  wire,  the  thinnest  silver  leaf  having  a  thick- 
ness of  only  l-100,000th  of  an  inch,  and  one  grain  of  the  metal  being  capable 
of  yielding  four  hundred  feet  of  wire.  It  possesses  a  high  degree  of  tenacity, 
a  wire  with  a  diameter  of  l-12th  of  an  inch  being  able  to  support  a  weight  of 
nearly  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  pounds.  It  requires  a  heat  of  1873° 
Fahrenheit  to  fuse  it,  and  on  cooling,  expands  at  the  moment  of  solidifica- 
tion. It  is  an  excellent  conductor  of  heat  and  electricity,  and  is  not  affected 
by  exposure  even  to  a  moist  atmosphere  at  any  temperature. 

Silver,  like  gold,  has  been  known  and  prized  from  the  earliest  ages.  The 
silver  mines  of  Mexico  were,  until  quite  recently,  by  far  the  richest  known 
to  exist.  Their  estimated  annual  yield  is  about  1,600,000  pounds  troy  of  the 
pure  metal.  Until  the  remarkable  discoveries  of  silver  ore  in  Nevada  and 


A  SILVEB  MINE, 

adjoining  States  and  Territories  in  1859  and  1860,  Chili  and  Peru  had  long 
stood  next  to  Mexico  in  their  yield,  each  furnishing  about  one-sixth  of  the 
produce  of  that  country.  Bolivia  is  also  rich  in  silver;  but  the  recent  ex- 
traordinary development  of  silver  mining  in  the  Western  regions  of  the 
United  States,  appears  to  have  raised  their  produce  to  at  least  a  par  with 
that  of  Mexico,  so  that  these  two  countries  now  furnish  three-fourths  of  all 
the  silver  obtained  in  the  world.  Of  European  countries,  Spain  is  the  most 
productive,  the  richest  mines  being  those  of  Hiendelaencina,  in  the  province 
of  Guadalaxara,  which  were  first  extensively  opened  in  1846.  These  have 
yielded  immense  wealth,  but  their  produce  has  much  declined  since  1858. 
Silver  glance  is  the  principal  ore,  although  several  others  are  found,  in- 
cluding quantities  of  the  formerly  rare  mineral  freieslebenite.  which,  contains 


366       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

about  23  per  cent,  of  silver.  Next  to  Spain,  Austria,  Saxony  and  the  liar? 
district  in  Northern  Germany  yield  the  largest  supplies.  The  silver 
mines  of  Kongsberg,  in  Norway,  are  likewise  valuable,  and  have  been  long 
famous. 

As  previously  stated,  the  great  natural  deposits  of  silver  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  were  not  discovered  until  the  years  1859  and  1860.  Pros- 
pectors and  pioneers  traversing  Arizona,  Idaho,  Nevada,  Colorado,  and 
other  Territories  in  the  far  West  in  search  of  gold,  by  mere  accident  dis- 
covered the  greatest  silver  mine  ever  known.  The  celebrated  Comstock 
lode  in  Storey  County,  Nevada,  twenty  miles  from  Reno,  on  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  was  found  in  1859  by  James  Shinney  and  Henry  Cometock. 
So  little  did  these  men  understand  the  value  of  their  discovery  that  they 
parted  with  their  interest  for  a  mere  trifle.  A  company  was  formed,  and 
work  was  commenced  in  1861.  By  1865  the  mine  had  yielded  to  the 
value  of  $30,000,000,  and  Virginia  City,  with  a  population  of  20,000,  had 
sprung  up  in  the  locality,  and  was  nourishing  in  a  manner  truly  remarkable. 
In  1876  the  mines  of  the  Comstock  lode  yielded  silver  ore  to  the  value  of 
$36,500,000.  Such  an  unparalleled  result  naturally  produced  a  "  silver 
fever,"  and  extensive  prospecting  at  once  began  in  various  parts  of  Colorado, 
Idaho  and  Montana.  The  mines  of  Leadville  were  not  discovered  until 
1877,  but  shortly  after  yielded  $16,000,000  in  a  single  year. 

The  forms  in  which  silver  is  found  in  nature  are  numerous,  but  we  need 
only  notice  a  few  of  them.  It  is  frequently  found  native  in  crystallized  and 
amorphous  masses,  which  are  sometimes  of  considerable  size.  But  the 
quantity  of  silver  found  in  nature  in  the  metallic  state  is  comparatively 
small.  Its  principal  ores  are  the  different  sulphides  or  sulphurets — viz., 
silver  glance,  or  sulphuret  of  silver,  containing  when  pure,  eighty-seven 
parts  of  silver  and  thirteen  of  sulphur;  brittle  silver  ore,  or  sulphuret  of 
silver  and  antimony,  of  which  the  composition  is,  silver  68'5,  antimony  14'7, 
and  sulphur  16-4;  and  red  silver  ore,  called  also  ruby  silver,  of  which  there 
ia  a  dark  and  a  light  kind,  the  composition  of  the  former  being  similar  to 
brittle  silver  ore,  but  it  is  a  little  less  rich  in  silver,  and  the  latter  only 
differs  in  containing  arsenic  instead  of  antimony.  The  bulk  of  the  silver  ob- 
tained in  Mexico  and  South  America  is  got  frcm  these  ores.  The  only  other 
of  much  importance,  except  the  mixed  ores,  is  horn  silver,  or  chloride  of 
silver.  In  a  pure  state,  it  consists  of  silver  seventy-five,  and  chlorine 
twenty-five.  It  occurs  extensively  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  Besides  the  ores 
named  above,  a  good  deal  of  the  silver  of  commerce  is  obtained  from  mixed 
ores,  that  is,  the  ores  of  other  metals  are  frequently  found  to  contain  it. 
In  many  cases,  the  amount  of  silver  falls  greatly  short  of  one  per  cent. 
These  ores  are  for  the  most  part  sulphurets  of  lead,  arsenic,  copper,  zinc 
and  iron. 

The  reduction  of  silver  ore  is  a  heavy  manufacturing  business,  requiring 
extensive  and  complicated  machinery  and  appliances,  and  rather  more  than 
the  usual  proportion  of  skilled  labor.  Step  with  me,  if  you  care  to  see  an 
illustration,  into  a  complete  mill,  and  watch  the  ore  turn,  in  due  process,  to 
bars  of  bullion. 

Outside  is  a  small  hill  of  ore,  transported  by  wagon,  at  a  cost  of  from 
four  to  six  dollars  a  ton,  from  the  mines  ten  miles  distant.  The  ore  is 
simply  a  hard  quartz,  infiltrated  with  various  metals.  Unless  the  ore  is 
very  rich  you  can  seldom  discover,  even  by  the  aid  of  a  glass,  any  of  the 
minute  particles  of  silver.  Some  ore  looks  like  gray  limestone.  The  Pahr- 
anagat  ore  ie  almost  prismatic,  heii>£  spotted  yellow  by  decomposed  lead, 


MINING.  367 

blue  by  copper,  brownish  red  by  iron,  and  dark  lead  color  or  black  by  sil- 
Ter.  The  ore  is  carried  in  ox-hide  baskets  to  the  crushing-room,  where  it 
is  weighed  and  registered.  Then  it  is  poured  outiii  the  stamp-room,  where 
a  man  with  a  long-handled  shovel  feeds  it  under  the  stamps. 

The  ton  stamps  are  simply  upright  iron  hammers,  weighing  six  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  each.  Their  province  is  to  crush  the  ore  into  a  dust  as  fine 
as  flour.  The  dust  cannot  escape  from  the  stamps  until  it  flies  through 
sieves  in  powder  so  minute  as  to  be  almost  impalpable  to  the  touch.  A  ton 
of  oro  can  be  sufficiently  crushed  in  two  and  one-third  hours. 

The  next  step  is  to  roast  your  fine  powder  (or  pulp,  as  it  is  called)  in 
order  to  burn  up  all  the  base  metals  in  it  except  silver,  gold  and  copper. 
The  "  roasters  "  are  ordinary  ovens,  like  those  used  for  baking  bread,  ex- 
cept that  the  flues  are  admitted  to  the  chamber  whore  the  pulverized  ore  is 
deposited.  Workmen  called  "  roasters  "  also  stir  the  dust  with  long-handled 
shovels,  keeping  up  a  cherry  red  heat.  Each  of  the  five  furnaces  has  a  ca- 
pacity for  half  a  ton  of  dust,  and  the  time  consumed  in  roasting  the  pulp  is 
six  hours.  Your  dust,  when  thoroughly  roasted,  contains  nothing  but  gold, 
silver  and  copper  in  powdered  quartz.  The  other  metals  have  been  effected 
by  fire  and  large  quantities  of  salt  thrown  in  to  chlorodize  them. 

The  roasted  dust  is  raked  out  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  furnace  and 
conveyed  into  the  amalgamating  pans,  or  large  tubs  filled  with  hot  water, 
where  it  is  further  ground  in  a  sort  of  iron  fan- wheel,  and  where  five  pounds 
of  quicksilver  are  thrown  in  for  every  pound  of  silver  you  estimate  the  ore 
to  contain.  The  union  made,  the  amalgam  of  the  two  metals  sinks  to  the 
bottom  of  the  tub,  and  the  quartz  powder  runs  off  in  a  muddy  rill  from  an 
orifice  above. 

Next,  the  amalgam  is  taken  from  the  bottom  of  the  tubs  and  strained 
through  canvas  bags,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  any  superfluous  quicksilver.  The 
amalgam,  after  this  straining,  is  five  parts  quicksilver,  and  one  part  silver. 
It  looks  and  feels  like  a  silvery  sort  of  wet,  white  sand.  The  amalgam  is 
now  ready  for  the  "  amalgamator,"  the  most  important  artisan  about  the 
mill,  and  the  one  who  generally  has  charge  of  both  mill  and  workmen.  *  He 
places  the  amalgam  in  a  face  of  his  own,  and  builds  a  fire  hot  enough  to 
send  the  quicksilv  er  off  in  a  vapor,  leaving  a  residuum  of  silver.  The  flying 
vapor  is  condensed  in  water  and  returned  to  its  original  form  of  quicksilver, 
ready  to  be  used  again,  having  lost  but  one  per  cent,  of  its  bulk.  The  silver 
left  in  the  retort  looks  like  rusty  chips  of  ragged  metal,  and  is  anything  but 
precious  in  appearance. 

The  process  of  casting  the  silver  bar  (its  usual  weight  is  about  eighty- 
five  pounds)  is  simple  enough.  The  silver  chips  are  placed  in  a  black  lead 
mold,  melted,  and  come  out  in  a  bar  of  silver,  or  rather,  a  bar  about  eioiit 
hundred  parts  silver  and  two  hundred  parts  copper.  Such  is  the  bullion  of 
commerce,  and  such  a-  bar  is  worth  from  $1,200  to  $1,300  in  coin.  The  cop- 
per is  laueii  out  in  tue  minis  in  such,  t  maun*1-''  as  to  save  it. 

A  good  silver  mill,  with  its  branch  buildings,  covers  two  acres,  and  is 
crowded  in  all  parts  with  machinery.  The  milling  process,  e*  best,  does  not 
save  over  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  the  silver  in  the  ore.  The  olher  iif**en  per 
cent,  is  sensibly  lost  in  the  various  stages  of  reduction.  A  ten-stamp  mill 
burns  twelve  cords  of  wood  per  day,  and  consumes  one  thousand  five  him 
dred  pounds  of  salt.  Other  supplies  and  labor  run  up  its  daily  expense  *«. 
$500.  If  it  has  $109  ore,  its  receipts  are  $100.  But  $100  ore  is  a  high  grade 
and  not  very  abundant  in  any  mines,  in  Nevada,  so  far  a.s  they  have  be«r 
penetrated  by  the  pick, 


368       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Diamonds. — The  most  valuable  of  all  precious  stones  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  ruby,  and  the  hardest  of  all  known  substances,  is  the  diamond. 
It  consists  of  carbon,  a  simple  or  elementary  substance,  crystallized,  and  in 
its  greatest  purity.  Diamonds  are  commonly  colorless  and  as  clear  as 
water;  although,  sometimes  from  some  slight  foreign  intermixture,  they  are 
white,  gray,  yellow,  green,  brown,  and  more  rarely  orange,  red,  blue  or 
black.  The  lustre  is  adamantine  and  very  high,  and  it  becomes  positively 
electric  by  friction.  Its  hardness  renders  it  incapable  of  being  scratched  by 
any  other  substance,  and  in  cutting  and  polishing  diamonds  diamond  dust 
is  employed.  The  estimation  in  which  it  is  held  as  a  precious  stone  is  due 
to  its  remarkable  hardness,  rarity  and  brilliancy.  The  art  of  cutting 
diamonds,  although  long  practiced  in  India  and  China,  was  not  known  in 


DIAMOND   MINING  IN   AFRICA. 

Europe  till  after  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  it  was  discovered 
by  Louis  van  Berguen  of  Bruges.  Previous  to  that  time,  diamonds  were 
set  without  being  cut,  and  in  that  state  they  have  often  a  rough,  dull  and 
uneven  surface.  Diamonds  are  indeed  found  not  only  in  the  form  of  per- 
fect crystals,  but  also  in  rolled  grains;  and  they  are  obtained  partly  from 
alluvial  soils  and  the  sands  of  rivers,  and  partly  from  rocks,  chiefly  a  quartzy 
sandstone  or  conglomerate,  in  which  they  are  often  associated  with  gold.  A 
number  of  localities  in  India  have  long  been  celebrated  as  productive  of 
diamonds,  particularly  Golconda;  they  are  found  also  in  Malacca,  Borneo, 
and  other  parts  of  the  East;  nor  were  any  diamonds  procured  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world  till  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  they 
were  discovered  in  remarkable  abundance  in  the  district  of  Serra  do  Frio,  in 
the  province  of  Mioas  Geraee,  in  Brazil.  Previous  to  that  time,  diainoud.8 


MINING.  869 

found  in  Brazilian  gold  mines  had  been  disregarded  as  mere  pebbles;  their 
nature  became  known  in  consequence  of  some  of  them  accidentally  finding 
their  way  to  Europe.  In  1829,  they  were  discovered  in  the  Ural  Mountains. 
They  have  also  been  found  in  Butherford  County,  North  Carolina;  in  Hale 
County,  Georgia;  in  the  province  of  Constantino,  Algeria;  in  Australia;  and 
in  South  Africa.  Diamond  mines  consist  in  general  of  more  diggings  and 
washings  of  alluvial  deposits.  In  Brazil,  the  method  pursued  is  to  rake  the 
alluvial  matter  backwards  and  forwards  on  inclined  planes,  over  which  a 
stream  of  water  is  made  to  run,  till  the  lighter  particles  are  carried  away, 
when  large  stones  are  picked  out  by  the  hand,  and  what  remains  is  carefully 
examined  for  diamonds.  The  work  is  carried  on  by  slaves,  and  when  a 
diamond  of  seventeen  carats  is  found,  the  slave  who  finds  it  is  entitled  to 
his  liberty.  Large  diamonds  are  comparatively  rare  among  those  of  Brazil, 
all  the  notable  diamonds  in  the  world  being  Indian.  Brazil  produces  yearly 
from  twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  carats  of  diamonds,  of  which, 
however,  not  more  than  nine  thousand  carats  are  capable  of  being  cut,  the 
rest  being  either  very  small  or  of  inferior  quality.  The  small  and  inferior 
diamonds  are  called  bort,  and  command  a  ready  sale  for  their  use  in  the 
arts,  being  pounded  in  a  steel  mortar,  and  much  employed  in  the  form  of 
diamond-dust  by  lapidaries  for  cutting  and  polishing  diamonds  and  all  lands 
of  gems,  and  even  for  polishing  rock-crystals  for  spectacles.  Minute  frag- 
ments or  splinters  of  bort  are  also  used  for  making  fine  drills,  which  are 
used  for  drilling  small  holes  in  rubies  and  other  hard  stones  to  be  employed 
in  watch-making,  gold  and  silver  wire-drawing,  etc.,  and  for  piercing  holes 
for  rivets  in  china,  in  artificial  enamel  teeth,  etc.  The  use  of  small  diamonds 
by  glaziers  for  cutting  glass  is  well  known.  The  diamonds  so  used  are  un- 
cut, and  they  are  so  mounted  as  to  act  upon  the  glass  not  by  an  angle,  but 
by  a  curvilinear  edge  of  the  crystal.  The  cut  is  only  to  the  depth  of  about 
one  two-hundredth  part  of  an  inch,  but  is  sufficient  to  make  the  glass  readily 
break  in  accordance  with  it. 

Diamonds  are  cut  into  various  forms,  but  principally  into  brilliants  and 
rose  diamonds.  The  brilliant  cut  is  the  most  expensive  and  difficult,  but  ia 
also  that  which  best  brings  out  the  beauty  of  the  stone;  it  has  an  upper  or 
principal  octagonal  face,  surrounded  with  many  facets,  and  other  things  be- 
ing equal,  the  greater  the  number  of  facets  the  more  valuable  is  the  dia- 
mond. The  lapidaries  of  the  East,  however,  sometimes  multiply  facets  to 
hide  imperfections  of  the  stone.  Rose  diamonds  have  a  flat  base,  above 
which  are  two  rows  of  triangular  facets,  the  six  uppermost  uniting  in  a  point. 
Rose  diamonds  are  made  of  those  stones  which  are  too  broad  in  proportion 
to  their  depth  to  be  cut  as  brilliants.  Stones  still  thinner  are  cut  as  table 
diamonds.  The  art  of  sawing  diamonds,  when  too  thick  in  proportion  to 
their  surface,  was  invented  by  a  Dutchman  named  Dalbeck  in  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

CoaL— The  minerals  of  the  carboniferous  formation,  at  least  those 
which  occur  in  beds  or  strata,  as  coal  and  clay  ironstone,  are  mined  in  a 
different  way  from  metallic  veins.  Originally  deposited  in  a  horizontal  po- 
sition, they  have  been  so  altered  by  movements  in  the  earth's  crust,  that 
they  are  rarely  found  so  now.  They  are  more  generally  found  lying  in  & 
kind  of  basiu  or  trough,  with  many  minor  undulations  and  dislocations. 
But  however  much  twisted  out  of  their  original  position,  the  different  seams, 
more  or  less,  preserve  their  parallelism,  a  fact  of  great  service  to  the  miner, 
since  beds  of  shale,  or  other  minerals,  of  a  known  distance  from  a  coal 


870       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

seam,  are  often  exposed  -when  the  coal  itself  is  not,  and  so  indicate  where  it 
may  be  found. 

The  great  progress  made  of  late  years  in  the  science  of  geology  has  made 
us  so  minutely  acquainted  with  all  the  rock  formations  above  and  below  the 
coal-measures,  that  it  is  now  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  determine 
whether,  in  any  given  spot,  coal  may  or  may  not  be  found.  Nevertheless, 
large  sums  are  still  occasionally,  as  they  have  in  past  times  been  very  fre- 
quently, wasted  in  the  fruitless  search  for  coal,  where  the  character  of  the 
rocks  indicates  formations  far  removed  from  coal-bearing  strata. 

When  there  are  good  grounds  for  supposing  that  coal  is  likely  to  be  found 
in  any  particular  locality,  before  a  pit  is  sunk,  the  preliminary  process  of 
"  boring "  is  resorted  to,  in  order  to  determine  whether  it  actually  does 
exist  there,  and  if  in  quantity  sufficient  to 
make  the  mining  of  it  profitable.  The  usual 


mode  of  "  winning  "  or  reaching  the  coal 
is  to  sink  a  perpendicular  shaft,  but 
sometimes  a  level  or  cross-cut  mine, 
and  at  other  times,  an  inclined  plane,  or 
"dook"  is  adopted.  Before  the  intro- 
duction of  pumping-engines,  all  coal-workings  were  drained  by  means  of  a 
level  mine  called  a  day-level,  driven  from  the  lowest  available  point  on  the 
surface,  and  no  coal  could  be  wrought  at  a  lower  depth  than  this,  because 
there  were  no  means  of  removing  the  water. 

When  the  shaft  has  been  sunk  to  the  necessary  depth,  a  level  passage, 
called  the  dip-head,  or  main-level,  is  first  driven  on  each  side,  which  acts  as 
a  roadway  or  passage,  and,  at  the  same  time,  as  a  drain  to  conduct  the 
water,  which  accumulates  in  the  workings,  by  means  of  a  gutter  on  one  side, 
to  the  lodgment  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft.  This  level. is  the  lowest  limit  of 
the  workings  in  the  direction  of  the  dip,  and  from  it  the  coal  is  worked  out 
as  far  as  is  practicable  along  the  rise  of  the  strata.  There  are  two  principal 
methods  of  mining  the  coal.  One  is  termed  the  "  post-and-stall "  or  "  stoop- 
and-room  "  system,  and  is  used  for  thick  seams;  the  other  is  called  the 
"  long-wall "  system,  and  ia  adopted  for  seams  under  four  feet  in  thickness, 


MINING. 


371 


The  long-watt  system  consists  in  extracting  the  entire  seam  of  coal  at  the 
first  working,  the  overlying  strata  being  supported  by  the  waste  rock  from 
the  roof  of  the  workings.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  leave  large  stoops  at 
the  bottom  of  the  shaft  for  its  support,  as  in  the  stoop-and-room  method. 
In  long-wall  workings,  roads  of  a  proper  height  and  width  require  to  be  made 
for  communication  with  the  different  parts  of  the  mine. 

The  collier's  usual  mode  of  extracting  the  coal  from  its  bed  is  this:  With 
a  light  pick,  he  undercuts  the  coal  seam,  technically  termed  "  holing,"  for 
two or  three 
feetinwardj 
and  then, 
by  driving 
in  wedges 
at  the  top 
of  the  seam, 
he  breaks 
away  the 
p  o  r  t  i  o  n  j 
which  has  j 
been  holed. 
Blasting  is 
occasional- 
ly, but  not 
often  re-, 
sorted  to.  | 
Forthe  past 
ten  years 
machines, 
some  for 
"holing" 

and  others  for   both  "holing" 
and    hewing    down    coal-seams, 
have  been  more  or  less  in  use. 
They  usually  work    with    com- 
pressed air,  but  sometimes  with 
steam  or  water.    It  is  still  pre- 
mature, however,  to  express  any  decided  opin- 
ion as  to  their  efficiency  as  compared  with  hand- 
labor.    The  coal,  when  separated  from  its  bed, 
is  put  on  tubs  or  hutches,  which  are  generally 
drawn  by  horses,  but  sometimes  by  engine-power,  along  the 
roads  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  and  hoisted  to  the  surface. 

The  proper  ventilation  of  any  mine,  but  especially  of  a 
coal-mine,  is  of  very  great  importance.    It  clears  the  mine     COAL-CAKS. 
of  the  dangerous  gases,  fire-damp  and  foul  damp,  dries  the 
subterranean  roadways,  and  furnishes  the  miners  with  a  supply  of  pure  air. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  secure  efficient  ventilation  through  all  the  zigzag 
windings  of  a  mine;  hence  the  frequent  and  terrible  explosions  of  fire- 
damp, or  light  carburfitted  hydrogen,  which  explodes  when  mixed  with  a 
certain  proportion  of  atmospheric  air;  hence,  also,  the  occasional  accumula- 
tion of  foul-damp  (carbonic  acid)  in  some  pits,  which  suffocates  any  one 
breathing  it.    This  doadly  gas  is  always  produced  in  large  quantity  by  an 
explosion  of  fire-damp,  and  chokes  many  who  have  survived  the  violence  of 


372       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


the  explosion.    Many  collieries  are  BO  free  of  fire-damp  that  the  miners 
work  with  naked  lights,  but  in  others  it  is  necessary  to  use  the  safety  lamp. 

Copper. — Copper  when  pure  is  of  a  singularly  red  color,  exceedingly 
malleable  and  ductile;  it  can  be  hammered  when  red-hot;  it  is  not  so  hard 
as  iron,  but  nearly  as  tenacious;  and  is  remarkable  for  not  corroding  by  ex- 
posure to  the  air;  immense  quantities  of  it  are  used  in  this  country  for  cop- 
pering the  bottoms  of 
ships,  for  coinage, 
and  for  a  multitude 
of  household  u  t  e  n  - 
sils,  etc.,  as  well  as 
for  making  brass. 

Copper  appears  to 
have  been  well  known 
to  the  nations  of  an- 
tiquity, and  often 
when  brass  is  men- 
tioned in  old  books, 
copper  must  bounder- 
stood;  as  for  example, 
the  passage  in  Deu- 
teronomy, which  de- 
scribes "  a  laud  whose 
stones  are  iron,  and 
out  of  whose  hills 
t  h  o  u  mayest  dig 
brass."  Copper,  both 
for  working  by  itself 
and  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  brass,  was 
early  obtained  from 
Egypt,  one  of  the 
chief  sources  of  the 
wealth  of  the  Pha- 
raohs being  the  cop- 
per mines  of  the  ad- 
j  a  c  e  n  t  countries  of 
Nubia  and  Ethiopia; 
copper  was  known  too 
in  Greece,  from  the 
earliest  settlement  of 
the  country.  There 
is  a  curious  collec- 
tion of  Scandinavian 
antiquities  at  Copenhagen,  in  which  are  many  swords,  knives,  and  daggers, 
the  blades  of  which  are  made  of  gold  or  copper,  with  an  edge  of  iron; 
proving,  by  the  parsimony  with  which  the  latter  metal  was  used,  how  much 
more  abundant  were  the  other  two. 

The  mines  which  supply  the  copper  of  commerce  are  situated  in  almost 
all  part*  of  the  world,  a  large  proportion  of  which  are  worked  by  English 
companies,  and  made  tributary  to  the  great  smelting  establishment  in  South 
Wales.  Copper  mines  are  worked  on  the  range  of  the  Andes,  the  Cordil- 


INTEBIOK   OF   A   SHAFT. 


373 

leras  of  Central  America,  and  the  Appalachians  of  North  America,  the  geo- 
logical formations  of  these  mountains  beiug  productive  of  copper  ore.  In 
the  Eastern  and  Middle,  Southern  and  Western  States,  copper  mines  exist, 
the  most  famous  of  which  are  those  of  Lake  Superior. 

All  that  is  visible  on  the  surface  of  a  copper  mine  is  usually  several 
buildings,  more  or  less  rude  in  structure,  containing  the  engine,  the 
steam-pump,  etc.,  and  a  number  of  sheds  where  the  copper  ore  is  stowed 
as  it  is  brought  to  the  surface,  and  picked  over  by  women  and  girls,  who, 
with  a  little  mallet  knock  off  the  unproductive  pieces;  leaving  only  such  as 
•will  pay  the  expense  of  working  it;  all  that  they  throw  out  is  carried  away 
in  barrows,  and  added  to  the  heap  of  refuse,  which  in  time  becomes  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  features  of  the  mine,  when  seen  from  a  distance. 
Another  characteristic,  too,  is  the  mountain  stream,  which,  instead  of  run- 
ning clear  and  pxire  as  before  it  reaches  the  mine,  flows  on  thick  and  black, 
or  dingy  gray,  and  so  charged  with  metallic  matter  as  to  be  anything  but 
fertilizing  in  its  progress.  There  is  a  curious  copper  mine  in  Cornwall, 
only  a  few  miles  from  the  Land's  End,  which  is  called  the  Botallack  Mine. 
Approaching  it,  you  see  the  various  buildings  and  machinery  connected 
with  the  mine,  not  grouped  together  on  the  level  ground  or  hillside,  as 
is  usual,  but  scattered  up  and  down  the  precipitous  face  of  the  cliff,  on  all 
the  available  ledges  of  rock,  where  there  would  appear  to  inexperienced 
eyes  to  be  only  space  enough  for  a  gull's  nest,  the  sea  breaking  and  roaring 
at  the  bottom.  This  mine,  which  is  worked  to  a  very  great  depth,  is 
carried  out  several  hundred  yards  from  the  shore,  below  the  bottom  of 
the  sea;  and  as  you  traverse  its  narrow  and  dark  passages,  you  may  hear 
the  low  moaning  of  the  ocean  far  above  your  head;  when  the  weather  is 
rough,  and  the  sea  runs  high,  this  dim,  mysterious  sound  is  increased  into 
a  roar,  tierce  and  awful  beyond  all  imagination;  and  such  is  the  horror  of 
the  miners,  that,  though  so  long  accustomed  to  the  spot,  they  seldom  con- 
tinue working  when  a  storm  occurs,  but  find  their  way  back  to  the  upper 
air.  The  galleries  of  this  mine  are  very  damp,  the  salt  water  from  above 
forcing  its  way  through  numerous  crevices  too  minute  to  be  seen,  and  drip- 
ping slowly  on  the  floor. 

Sometimes,  in  small  quantities,  copper  is  found  pure,  and  veins  of  cop- 
per are  not  unfrequently  visible  in  cliffs  laid  bare  by  the  sea.  It  is  re- 
markable that,  while  there  are  hardly  more  than  four  of  five  different  sorts 
of  tin  ores,  and  only  one  at  all  common,  those  of  copper  are  almost  innum- 
erable; in  one  collection  in  Cornwall  a  thousand  varieties  are  shown.  One 
poor  ore,  the  green  carbonate  of  copper,  is  now  become  familiar  to  the 
world  as  the  beautiful  green  stone  called  malachite;  which  is  used  for  orna- 
mental purposes.  The  richness  of  the  ores  varies  very  much,  and  conse- 
quently their  value.  A  large  quantity  of  the  Cornish  copper  ore  is  conw- 
veyed  to  South  Wales  to  be  smelted  there,  because  of  the  abundant  supply 
of  fuel  which  the  Welsh  coal  mines  afford;  the  vessels  which  convey  the 
copper  ore,  load  back  with  coal  to  feed  the  mining  steam  engines. 

To  obtain  pure  copper,  the  different  ores  are  well  mixed,  this  being  de- 
sirable, as  one  ore  often  acts  as  a  flux  to  others;  the  whole  is  then  calcined, 
remaining  twelve  hours  in  the  furnace,  from  which  it  is  raked  out  black 
and  powdery.  The  next  process  is  smelting,  during  which  the  slags, 
or  earthy  parts,  rise  to  the  surface  and  are  cleared  off,  the  metal  being 
run  out  into  pits  filled  with  water,  which  causes  it  to  become  granulated. 
These  two  processes  are  repeated  twice  more,  and  then  the  metal  ia 
roasted  again;  which  oxidizes  the  iron  and  other  metals  still  combined 


374        CYCLOPEDIA    Off    V8EFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 


with  the  copper.  Nothing  now  remains  to  be  done  but  refining  and  toughen- 
ing; the  latter  is  a  curious  process;  the  »etal  in  the  furnace  is  covered  with 
charcoal,  and  a  pole  of  birch  wood  is  stirred  in  it,  this  causes  ebullition, 
and  the  grain  gradually  becomes  finer,  the  color  a  lighter  red,  and  the 
metal  more  malleable. 

Salt. — Salt  in  its  popular  sense  is  a  crystalline  mineral  substance,  white 
and  sparkling,  with  a  sharp  pungent  taste;  and  is  used  to  cure  and  season 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  MINE. 


many  arti-    ~ 
c 1 e  s     of 
food.  Com- 
mon salt  is 

not  altered  in  its  composi- 
tion by  heating  it  to  a  red 
heat;  it  is  not  soluble  in 
spirit;  and,  which  is  remark- 
able, hot  water  scarcely  dissolves  a  larger  portion  than  cold;  crystals  of  salt, 
therefore,  cannot  be  obtained  by  cooling  a  solution  of  it,  but  by  evaporation. 
The  natural  form  of  the  crystals  of  salt  is  a  cube,  but  when  formed  at 
a  high  temperature  they  are  deposited  much  more  rapidly,  and  are  hollow 
pyramids. 

Salt  being  one  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  we  find  it  by  the  kind  care  of 
Providence  stored  up  in  every  land;  every  nation  has  access  to  it  either  in 
the  form  of  salt  springs  or  mines,  or  can  obtain  it  from  the  sea.  Theae 


MINING. 


375 


sources  form  "  the  inexhaustible  storehouses  of  our  household  salt—  ali  iaat 
we  employ  in  our  fisheries,  iu  our  meat-curing  establishments,  in  our  agri- 
culture, in  our  soda  manufactories — all  that  fuses  our  glass,  and  fertilizes 
our  fields,  imparts  the  detergent  quality  to  our  soap,  and  gives  us  salt  her- 
riugs  and  salt  pork;  and  every  thing  else  salt  that  is  the  better  for  being  so, 
down  to  our  dinner  celery  and  our  breakfast  eggs." 

In  preparing  salt  from  the  brine  springs,  the  brine  is  pumped  by  steam 
power  into  reservoirs  in  which  are  placed  pieces  of  rock  salt,  that  no  fuel 
may  be  wasted  by  evapo- 
rating an  unsaturated  so- 
lution; from  these  reser- 
voirs it  is  drawn  off  as 
•wanted  into  evaporating 
pans;  these  are  made  of 
wrought  iron;  they  are 
shallow  and  oblong,  and 
contain  from  six  hundred 
to  one  thousand  superfi- 
cial feet;  there  are  three 
or  four  fires  in  each  pan. 
The  various  kinds  of  salt 
are  produced  by  the  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  tempera- 
ture at  which  the  water  is 
evaporated  and  the  crys- 
tals formed;  the  less  heat 
is  applied  the  larger  the 
crystals  are.  The  time  oc- 
cupied varies  from  twelve 
hours  employed  in  mak- 
ing stove-salt  to  five  or 
six  days  needful  to 
make  large-grained  or 
fishery  salt;  when  the 
crystals  are  formed  at  the 
bottom  of  the  pan  they 
are  raked  out  and  heaped 
up  in  conical  baskets  to 
drain. 

Besides  the  rock  salt 
found  in  England,  salt 
mines  have  been  discov- 
ered in  Austria,  Hungary, 
Russia,  the  Tyrol,  Sweden, 
and  many  other  parts  of 
Europe;  the  principal  of  these  are  the  mines  of  Bocknia  and  "Wieliczka,  be- 
longing to  the  Austrian  government.  They  were  originally  worked  in  the 
year  1250,  and  were  carried  on  in  a  very  rude  manner  for  five  hundred 
years. 

The  mine  of  Wieliczka  measures  with  all  its  galleries  thirty  English 
miles,  its  greatest  depth  is  one  hundred  and  forty-five  fathoms;  it  is  divided 
into  three  distinct  compartments,  called  fields;  each  of  these  consists  of  five 
etories  one  below  the  other,  and  each  story  is  made  up  of  numeroms  cham- 


PASSAGE  TO  THE  MINE. 


376       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


bers,  cells  and  caverns,  connected  by  passages;  the  descent  is  made  by 
staircases  and  shafts;  the  staircases  are  carved  in  rock  salt,  and  are  some  of 
them  very  magnificent,  no  dirt  or  disorder  is  visible  anywhere;  and  as  there 
are  no  springs  of  water  at  so  great  a  depth,  the  air  is  quite  dry,  and  every- 
thing is  kept  in  the  most  perfect  state  of  preservation,  there  is  a  strong  cur- 
rent of  fresh  air  through  the  passages,  and  noxious  gases  are  never  met 
with  in  salt  mines. 

Many  of  the  excavated  chambers  in  this  mine  are  one  hundred  or  ono 

hundred  and  fifty 
feet    high,  and 
eighty  or  one 
hundred  feet 
long    and    wide; 
some  are  used  as 
storehouses,  and 
others        as 
chapels,    ball- 
rooms    and  din- 
ing-balls  on  oc- 
casions of  festiv- 
ity. In  the  chap- 
els every   thing 
is  carved  out  of 
rock  salt;  altars, 
walls,     ceilings, 
doors,  crucifixes, 
niches,  pedestals  and  stat- 
ues upon  them;  all  solid, 
and  yet  so  translucent  that 
a  torch  held  behind  one  of 
the  statues  shows  light  through 
its  thickest  part;  and  all  spark- 
ling   and    glittering   as    with 
countless  diamonds. 

These  halls  are  left  in  the 
process  of  excavation,  and 
•where  any  addition  is  required 
it  is  built  with  salt  and  water; 
in  this  manner,  masses  of  salt 
are  piled  one  upon  another, 
and  water  is  thrown  over  them, 
which  dissolves  a  portion  of 
the  salt;  the  crevices  are  thus 
filled  up,  the  water  evaporates 
and  leaves  the  whole  a  solid 
mass;  columns  of  salt  are  always  left  to  support  the  roof.  In  some  mines 
the  chambers  after  excavation  are  flooded  with  fresh  water,  which,  after 
remaining  several  months  to  get  saturated,  is  drawn  off  and  evaporated  in 
the  usual  manner.  In  other  places,  where  weak  brine  springs  occur,  the 
solution  is  allowed  to  drip  over  compact  bundles  of  fagots,  or  to  trickle 
down  ropes;  by  which  means  it  is  much  exposed  to  the  air,  and  part  of  the 
water  is  economically  evaporated  before  boiling  commences.  When  sea 
water  is  used  for  making  ealt  it  is  always  exposed  to  the  sun  in  shallow 


MINING.  37' 

ponds  until  the  quantity  is  very  much  reduced.  In  Russia,  Persia,  Abys- 
sinia, an!  many  other  countries,  salt  deserts  occur;  tracts  of  land  where 
salt  is  so  abundant,  both  on  the  surface  and  beneath  it,  that  it  can  be  ob- 
tained with  little  more  trouble  than  collecting  it;  these  tracts  are  quito 
barren,  and  after  a  shower  are  covered  with  a  white  incrustation  of  salt  re- 
sembling a  fall  of  snow.  At  Cardona,  in  Spain,  the  rock  salt  appears  on  the 
surface,  and  even  forms  a  precipice  four  or  five  hundred  feet  high,  over- 
looking the  valley;  this  is  quarried  as  any  ordinary  rock  might  be,  and  the 
salt  is  so  pure  aa  to  need  only  grinding  to  fit  it  for  use. 

A  lady  writer  gives  the  following  entertaining  description  of  a  visit  to  an 
Austrian  salt  mine: 

"  We  started  at  nine  o'clock  one  morning  in  August  to  visit  the  wonder- 
ful salt  mines  at  Berchtesgaden,  about  twelve  miles  from  Salzburg,  on  the 
Tyrol- Austria.  A  regular  business  is  made  by  the  government  of  exhibiting 
this  mine,  so  we  experienced  no  delay  in  getting  tickets  of  admission,  a 
guide  and  change  of  dress.  We  were  provided  with  coarse  dresses,  the 
ladies  removing  part  of  their  garments,  and  putting  on  pantaloons,  with  a 
dress  or  sort  of  coat,  extending  to  the  knees,  a  funny-looking  woolen  cap 
with  white  bands  for  head,  a  belt  around  the  waist,  with  miner's  lamp  hung 
on  in  front,  altogether  forming  an  odd  costume.  The  gentlemen  were 
changed  into  miners  (in  appearance),  with  rough  felt  hats,  and  rougher 
coats. 

"  We  employed  a  guide,  and  followed  him,  first  passing  through  a  door- 
way into  long  narrow  passages,  about  ten  feet  high  and  six  feet  wide,  for  a 
distance  of  five  hundred  feet.  These  passages  were  splendidly  walled  with 
granite.  When  the  granite  walls  ceased,  the  same  passage  continued 
through  crystal  salt,  which  is  so  solid  as  to  need  no  walling.  We  passed  up 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six  granite  steps  and  down  others.  Pipes  were  on 
each  side  of  the  passage,  one  for  salt  water,  and  one  fresh.  We  traveled  on 
for  some  time,  passing  various  passages  branching  off  from  the  one  we  were 
on.  Suddenly  we  were  startled  by  the  scene  presented.  I  hardly  know  how 
to  describe  it.  Imagine  a  salt  lake  in  the  center  of  the  mountain,  three  hun- 
dred feet  long,  two  hundred  wide,  brilliantly  illuminated  by  over  two 
hundred  lamps.  The  ceiling  was  of  solid  rock  salt,  twenty  feet  above,  and 
had  no  supports,  and  needed  none,  although  some  thousand  feet  of  moun- 
tain "  clothed  with  pines  "  was  over  our  heads.  A  boat  was  moored  to  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  in  this  we  took  seats,  and  were  soon  rowed  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  lake,  landed  on  a  platform,  and  shown  the  manner  in 
which  the  fresh  water  drips  through  masses  of  crystal  salt. 

"  Passing  on,  we  came  to  a  long  flight  of  steps,  a  place  where  it  was  nec- 
essary to  avoid  the  weariness  and  time  caused  by  descending  the  stairs  by 
sitting  on  a  board  at  the  bide  of  the  stairs,  and  slide!  First,  the  guide  took 
a  seat,  then  we  followed  singly,  with  our  Lands  on  the  shoulders  of  our 
companion  in  front  of  us,  in  the  same  way  as  boys  coast  down  hill.  Our 
guide  regulated  our  speed  by  a  guide-rope,  which  he  allowed  to  pass  rapidly 
through  his  heavily-gloved  hand.  We  slid  down  a  distance  of  eighty  feet, 
at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  It  was  a  frightfully  rapid  journey,  but 
thanks  to  the  skill  of  the  miner,  he  landed  us  on  our  feet  at  the  bottom 
with  scarcely  a  perceptible  jar. 

"Soon  we  came  to  a  huge  cave,  a  gallery  surrounding  it  hewn  out  of 
rock,  and  provided  with  a  railing.  Looking  down,  it  was  one  hundred  feet 
deep,  and  about  as  many  wide,  feebly  lighted  by  miners'  lamps,  the  mineri 
being  busy  at  work.  Again  we  came  to  a  point  where  another  sliding  board 


878       CYCLOPAEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

was  erected,  down  which  we  slid  the  hundred  feet  intervening  between  us 
and  the  bottom  of  the  cave.  The  bottom  was  reached  as  safely  as  before. 
We  reascended  to  another  part  by  means  oi  an  inclined  plane  used  for  haul- 
ing the  rock  salt  out  of  the  cave,  then  our  guide  led  us  through  a  long  pas- 
sage hewn  out  of  rock  salt  until  we  came  to  a  small  illuminated  chamber. 
After  admiring  the  novelty  of  the  scene,  we  were  invited  to  sit  astride  a  long 
bench,  with  wheels  fitting  into  a  rail-track.  The  guide  sat  in  the  front  end 
of  the  bench,  having  control  of  the  brakes.  "We  dashed  along,  turning  curves 
at  railroad  speed;  our  lamps  were  extinguished  by  the  rapid  speed,  and 
when  we  at  last  could  perceive,  a  long  way  ahead  of  us,  a  glimmer  of  day- 
light, the  sensation  was  pleasing.  On  we  sped,  until  suddenly  we  flew  out 
into  the  open  air,  and  landed  safely  at  the  point  from  which  we  started,  and 
found  a  crowd  of  visitors,  arrayed  in  miner's  garb  ready  to  enter." 

Lead — Lead  was  largely  worked  by  the  Bomans  in  Great  Britain,  and 
pigs  with  Latin  inscriptions  have  been  frequently  found  near  old  smelting 
works.  The  mining  of  lead  in  England  was  formerly  regulated  by  curious 
laws;  some  places,  such  as  the  King's  Field,  in  Derbyshire,  having  special 
privileges.  It  was  the  custom  in  this  district  not  to  allow  the  ore  to  leave 
the  mine  till  it  was  measured  in  the  presence  of  an  official  called  a  bar-master, 
who  set  aside  a  twenty-fifth  part  as  the  king's  cope  or  lot.  Up  to  a  compara- 
tively recent  period,  persons  were  allowed  to  search  for  veins  of  the  ore 
without  being  liable  for  any  damage  done  to  the  soil  or  crops. 

Lead  ore  is  pretty  generally  distributed,  but  by  far  the  largest  supply  of 
this  metal  is  obtained  from  Great  Britain  and  Spam,  the  former  country 
yielding  some  seventy-five  thousand  tons  per  annum,  and  the  latter  prob- 
ably an  equal  supply.  Nearly  a  fourth  of  the  total  British  produce  is  pro- 
cured from  the  Northumberland  and  Durham  district,  where  there  exists,  at 
Allenheads,  one  of  the  largest  mining  establishments  in  the  world.  Scotland 
and  Ireland  furnish  only  a  very  small  quantity.  In  the  region  of  Lake  Su- 
perior, in  the  States,  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  are  extensive  and  valuable 
lead  mines. 

With  the  exception  of  a  little  from  the  carbonate  of  lead,  all  the  supplies 
of  this  metal  are  obtained  from  the  sulphide  of  lead  or  Galena.  This  min- 
eral contains  a  little  silver,  and  sometimes  copper,  zinc,  antimony,  or  selen- 
ium. It  is  of  a  lead  gray  color,  with  a  metallic  lustre,  is  found  massive,  or 
sometimes  granular,  or  crystallized  in  cubes  or  octahedrons.  It  is  very 
easily  broken,  and  its  fragments  are  cubical.  It  occurs  in  veins,  beds,  and 
imbedded  masses,  often  accompanying  other  metallic  ores,  in  primitive  and 
secondary  rocks,  but  most  of  all  in  what  is  known  as  transition  or  mountain 
limestone. 

The  lead  ore,  when  taken  from  the  mine,  is  broken  up  into  small  pieces, 
"  botched,"  and  washed,  to  separate  impurities.  Sulphide  of  lead,  when 
tolerably  pure,  is  smelted  with  comparative  ease.  It  is  first  roasted  in  a 
reverberatory  furnace.  From  twenty  to  forty  hundredweight  of  galena  are 
put  into  the  furnace  at  a  time,  either  with  or  without  lime.  In  about  two 
hours  the  charge  becomes  sufficiently  roasted.  During  the  process,  tho 
larger  portion  of  the  ore  takes  up  four  equivalents  of  oxygen,  and  becomes 
sulphate  of  lead;  a  little  oxide  of  lead  is  also  formed,  while  another  portion  re- 
mains unaltered  as  sulphide  of  lead.  After  it  is  roasted  the  ore  is  thoroughly 
mixed  together,  and  the  heat  of  the  furnace  suddenly  raised.  This  causes 
*  reaction  between  the  unchanged  and  tho  oxidized  portion  of  the  ore,  and 
reduces  much  of  the  lead,  sulphureous  acid  being  at  the  same  time  evolved. 


MINING.  379 

In  the  third  stage,  lime  is  thrown  in  and  mixed  with  slag  and  unreduced 
ore.  When  this  becomes  acted  on,  the  whole  of  the  lead  is  practically  sepa- 
rated from  the  ore.  and  is  then  run  off  at  the  tap-hole. 

In  some  districts  the  roasted  ore  is  smelted  on  a  separate  ore-hearth 
called  the  Scotch  furnace,  where  the  heat  is  urged  by  bellows.  Peat  and 
coal  are  used  as  the  fuel.  This  is  a  slower  mode  of  smelting  than  the  last, 
but  yields  a  purer  lead. 

During  the  operation  of  smelting  a  considerable  quantity  of  lead  is  vola- 
tilized and  carried  off  0,6  fume  or  smoke,  which,  when  allowed  to  escape  into 
the  atmosphere,  not  only  involves  a  loss  of  lead,  but  destroys  all  vegetation 
for  some  distance  around  the  works,  and  poisons  cattle  and  other  animals 
feeding  near  them.  Much  attention  has  of  late  been  paid  to  the  obviating  of 
these  evils,  and  several  plans  are  hi  use  for  the  purpose.  Where  it  can  be 
done,  no  method  is  more  effective  than  simply  conducting  the  smoke  from 
the  furnaces  through  a  long  horizontal  flue — say  a  mile  in  length — to  a  ver- 
tical stack.  The  fume  condenses  on  the  sides,  certain  openings  being  left 
for  the  purpose  of  collecting  it.  About  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the  fume 
thus  recovered  consists  of  metallic  lead. 

When  lead  contains  antimony  and  tia  as  impurities,  they  are  separated 
by  fusing  the  metal  in  shallow  pans,  and  allowing  it  to  oxidize  at  the  sur- 
face. In  this  way  the  antimony  and  tin  form  oxides,  and  as  such  are 
skimmed  off.  Lead  reduced  from  galena  always  contains  a  little  silver,  ol 
which  eight  or  ten  ounces  to  the  ton  is  a  very  common  proportion,  although 
it  often  exists  in  much  larger  quantity. 

Tin. — Tin  is  a  white  metal,  bright  and  silvery;  it  is  elastic,  and  conse- 
quently sonorous;  ductile,  very  light,  and  it  fuses  at  a  much  lower  tempera- 
ture than  is  necessary  to  heat  it  red  hot. 

Tin  is  found  in  America,  England,  and  some  parts  of  Germany;  but  the 
largest  supply  comes  from  the  Malay  peninsula  and  the  adjacent  islands; 
this  is  called  Banca  tin  from  the  place  of  its  export. 

The  tin  mines  of  England  early  attracted  more  civilized  nations  to  their 
shores;  the  Phoenicians  traded  there  for  tin  six  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
and  are  said  to  have  first  given  a  name  to  Cornwall,  in  which  county  the  tin 
mines  of  England  are  chiefly  situated,  calling  it  from  its  form  and  projecting 
position  by  a  Phooenician  word,  which  signified  a  liorn,  from  which  appella- 
tion are  derived  both  the  Latin  Cornubia  and  the  English  Cornwall.  Tha 
Greek  colonists  at  Marseilles,  and  the  Romans,  came  also  to  England  for 
tin,  and  these  last  gave  the  name  of  Cassiterides,  or  Tin  Islands,  to  the 
Scilly  Isles,  or  perhaps  to  St.  Michael's  Mount,  and  some  adjacent  rocks, 
where,  as  Diodorus  Siculus  relates,  the  natives  carried  their  tin  in  little  carts 
at  low  water,  to  barter  with  their  more  civilized  visitors  for  the  much  cov- 
eted produce  of  southern  climes. 

The  ancient  mines  were  probably  stream-works  open  to  the  surface, 
where  the  metal  is  exposed  by  washing.  Pickaxes  of  holm,  boxwood,  and 
even  of  horns  of  different  animals,  hava  often  been  found  in  these  kinds  of 
works;  the  rude  instruments  of  a  people  little  removed  from  barbarism. 
During  the  time  of  the  Normans  great  wealth  accrued  to  the  Earls  of  Corn- 
wall from  dues  and  imposts  on  tin  payable  to  them,  and  these  still  continue 
to  be  paid  to  the  Dukes  of  Cornwall,  the  blocks  of  tin  being  coined  or  stamped 
with  the  seal  of  the  duchy  after  the  dues  have  been  paid. 

Tin  is  found  in  veins  or  fissures  called  locally  lodes — their  direction  is 
mainly  from  east  to  west,  and  they  branch  out  and  divide  like  the  boughs 


380      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

of  a  tree,  diminishing  till  they  terminate  in  mere  threads.  Tin  is  also  fonnd 
in  a  dispersed  form  in  loose  stones,  which,  when  found  continuously,  are 
called  streams.  The  most  common  tin  ore  is  very  hard  and  glass-like. 

Tin  mining  is  carried  on  with  great  activity,  and  often  at  a  great  expense, 
which  arises  from  the  galleries  having  to  be  supported  with  large  timber. 
The  most  remarkable  mine  in  England  is  one  which  has  long  been  aban- 
doned on  account  of  its  danger;  this,  the  Huelcok,  is  carried  under  the  bed 
of  the  ocean  below  low-water  mark;  and,  in  one  place,  where  the  rich  vein 
ran  upward,  the  improvident  miners  pursued  it  till  only  four  feet  of  rock 
were  left  between  the  mine  and  the  bed  of  the  sea,  which  could  be  distinctly 
heard  howling  and  roaring,  the  rolling  of  the  masses  of  rock  moved  by  the 
waves  sounding  like  repeated  peals  of  thunder.  Another  mine,  called  the 
Huel  Ferry,  is  entirely  submarine. 

Zinc. — Zinc  is  a  metal  which  has  been  comparatively  lately  discovered 
m  its  ptire  form,  though  one  of  its  ores,  calamine  stone,  has  long  been  known 
and  used.  It  abounds  in  China,  and  the  Chinese  were  the  first  to  use  it; 
they  also  exported  it  in  large  quantities  to  India,  whence  much  was  imported 
to  England,  until  it  was  discovered  that  they  possessed  ores  of  it  themselves. 
The  largest  proportion  of  zinc,  or  spelter,  as  it  is  frequently  called  in  ita 
metallic  form,  is  obtained  from  the  German  states,  who  not  merely  supply 
the  home  markets,  but  have  superseded  the  Chinese  in  the  trade  in  India. 
Zinc  is  a  hard,  bluish-white  metal,  not  malleable  when  cold,  breaking  read- 
ily under  the  hammer,  and  showing  particularly  brilliant  crystalline  frac- 
ture; but  at  a  moderately  high  temperature  it  possesses  great  malleability 
and  ductility,  can  easily  be  drawn  into  wire  and  rolled  into  plates,  and 
worked  in  other  ways.  Zinc  is  well  suited  for  casting  figures;  it  melts  read- 
ily, liquefies  completely,  and  therefore  copies  every  line  of  the  mold  more 
accurately  than  harder  metals.  A  cast  can  be  made  in  zinc  for  one-sixth  or 
one-eighth  the  cost  of  bronze,  and  can  afterward  be  bronzed  so  as  to  look 
almost  as  well  as  that  metal.  Zinc  plates  are  used  for  many  purposes,  and 
in  roofing  they  are  valuable  for  their  lightness,  being  about  one-sixth  part 
the  weight  of  lead  ones;  they  are  not  liable  to  rust  or  corrode  from  exposure 
to  the  air;  many  vessels  are  now  made  of  zinc,  and  for  galvanic  apparatus 
this  metal  is  used. 

Quicksilver. — The  metal  used  in  barometers  and  thermometers  to 
show  the  changes  in  the  atmosphere,  is  called  Quicksilver  or  Mercu-i-y.  It 
is  white,  rather  bluer  than  silver,  and  as  it  is  from  its  great  fusibility  habitu- 
ally fluid,  it  readily  unites  with  many  other  metals  and  imparts  to  them  a 
degree  of  its  characteristic  quality;  when  these  metallic  mixtures  contain 
sufficient  mercury  to  render  them  semifluid  at  a  mean  temperature  they  are 
called  amalgams.  Mercury  is  likewise  employed  for  silvering  looking- 
glasses  and  for  gilding,  in  which  latter  process  the  gold  and  mercury  are  laid 
on  together  in  the  form  of  an  amalgam,  and  the  mercury  afterward  dissi- 
pated by  the  action  of  heat.  It  is  also  employed  in  the  preparation  of  sev- 
eral powerful  medicines,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  vermilion.  But  by  far 
the  largest  quantity  of  mercury  is  used  for  amalgamation  with  native  gold 
and  silver  to  facilitate  the  extraction  of  the  pure  metal.  The  chief  mines  of 
mercury,  or  quicksilver,  are  in  Spain,  in  the  provinces  of  Asturias  anu  An- 
dalusia; there  are  mines,  too,  at  Idria,  in  Carniola,  which  are  very  produc- 
tive, and  others  in  Tuscany  and  California.  Mercury  is  found  both  native 
and  mixed  with  sulphur,  in  which  state  it  forms  the  red  ore  called  cinnabar. 


WONDERS    OF    THE    SEA. 


Sea  Anemones.— Brilliant  as  the  hues  of  the  rainbow,  and  as  varied 
in  color,  a  group  of  anemones  in  their  native  element  might  be  compared  to 
a  basket  of  freshly  gathered  flowers.  In  examining  the  delicate  fringes,  as 
they  wave  gracefully  in  the  water,  one  can  almost  imagine  a  fragrance  aris- 
ing from  blooms  so  perfect.  Ancients  thought  they  were  flowers.  Poets 
sang  of  the  "  Roses  of  the  Sea; "  and  in  reading  their  lines  of  mystery,  one 
cannot  but  exclaim: 

"Oh,  ye  delicious  fables!    When  the  wave 

And  wood  were  peopled,  and  the  air,  with  things 
So  lovely,  why,  ah,  why  has  science  grave 

Scattered  your  great  imaginings  ? " 

Believing  them  to  be  flowers,  I  was  once  examining  some  beautiful 
orange-colored  specimens,  fully  expanded.  While  watching  the  graceful 
waving  of  the  tentacles,  a  shrimp  was  suddenly  grasped  by  them,  held,  and 
literally  "  tucked  in  "  the  opening  of  the  anemone. 

Calling  in  dismay  a  scientific  friend,  I  learned  that  the  beautiful  object 
was  an  animal,  that  boasted  of  a  ravenous  appetite  and  strong  digestive 
organs;  but  yet,  though  obliged  to  accept  the  disagreeable  fact  "  that  all 
things  beautiful  are  not  what  they  seem,"  I  must  confess  that  my  interest 
increased  rather  than  diminished. 

The  anemone  is  a  polyp — which  word  means  "  many-footed."  Its  anat- 
omy is  most  peculiar.  It  is  formed  of  two  tubes,  or  sacks,  one  within  the 
other,  and  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  originally  one  long  tube,  the 
end  of  which  has  been  turned  in,  leaving  a  round  margin,  crowned  with 
many  rows  of  tentacles,  which  make  a  thick,  soft  fringe. 

The  inner  tube,  with  an  opening  at  the  bottom,  is  the  stomach,  and  the 
outer  tube,  with  closed,  flat  base,  is  the  body.  There  are  vertical  parti- 
tions between  the  stomach  and  body,  which  divide  the  space  into  chambers 
«,nd  openings  in  these  partitions,  through  which,  in  connection  with  the 
•opening  in  the  stomach,  currents  of  water  circulate. 

The  mouth  is  the  large  opening  at  the  top,  and  into  it  is  taken  an  in- 
credible quantity  of  food.  The  shrimp  is  the  favorite  morsel,  but  worms 
and  small  mollusks  are  by  no  moans  ignored;  the  latter  are  swallowed 
whole,  the  shell  after  a  time  being  ejected. 

Each  one  of  the  tentacles,  which  are  so  graceful  and  appear  so  harmless, 
is  provided  with  a  number  of  coiled-up  threads,  called  lasso-cells,  so  minute 
that  they  can  be  seen  only  with  a  microscope,  and  which,  when  thrown  out, 
both  poison  and  entangle  the  prey. 

The  flesh  of  collectors  of  marine  animals  is  often  badly  poisoned  by 
them.  When  food  is  secured,  it  is  grasped  by  the  tentacles  and  passed  into 
the  stomach,  though  many  a  dainty  morsel  is  snatched  away  by  a  neighbor- 
ing marauder.  When  food  is  taken  the  anemone  withdraws  its  tentacles, 
folds  up,  and  whilo  digestion  is  going  on,  appears  to  sleep.  After  a  time  it 
expands  slowly,  by  fi'.ling  with  water,  which  is  taken  in  chiefly  at  the  mouth. 


882        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Yet,  though  having  BO  ferocious  an  appetite  when  food  can  be  obtained, 
the  anemone  is  so  constituted  as  to  exist  months  without  nourishment. 
Naturalists  reason  that  this  is  a  compensation  of  nature  when  animals  are 
unable  to  go  in  search  of  food. 

This  creature,  though  so  beautiful  in  structure,  has  no  intelligence  and 
but  little  instinct.  It  does  not  seem  to  be  even  conscious  of  prey  until  the 
prey  actually  comes  in  contact  with  the  tentacles.  These  are  sensitive 
when  touched,  however,  and  shrink  up  quickly  into  a  solid  round  mass. 

The  large  tanks  at  the"  New  York 
Aquarium  were  connected,  and  one 
of  the  naturalists  who  is  considered 
good  authority  told  me  that  when 
feeding  animals  in  a  tank  near  the 

anemones,  they    became    agitated, 

and  fully  expanded  the  tentacles. 
This  would  prove  that 
there  is  a  slight  sense 
or  smell,  or 

^—--^•g^^      s  o  in  o     iu- 
?j^  stinct     yet 
£  unackno  wi- 
ll edged. 

A 1  m  o  st 
pi  incredibleis 
1?  the  fact  that 
the  anem- 
ones are  re- 
produced in 
four  ways. 

The  first 
and  most 
reasonab  1  e 
is  by  eggs, 
which,  are 
formed  and 
deve 1 o  p  ed 
upon  the 

WL  walls  of  the  partitions.  When 
mature  they  drop  down,  and 
entering  the  digestive  cavity, 
\  are  ejected  from  the  mouth 
into  the  water  with  refuse 
food. 

The  stomach  is  wonderfully 
TBOPICAL  ANEMONE.  accommodating,  and  fulfills  a 

multitude  of  functions,  re- 
ceiving, swallowing  and  rejecting,  a  continual  rejecting  seeming  a  normal 
condition. 

They  increase,  also,  by  budding  like  trees  and  shrubs.  A  slight  swell- 
ing arises  on  the  side  of  the  body,  or  at  the  base,  then  gradually  enlarges, 
becomes  perfect  in  form,  and  drops  off.  Several  have  been  seen  on  one  pa- 
rent. 

They  also  multiply  by  self-division,  or  by  being  cut  into  particles  with  a 


WONDERS    OF    THE    SEA, 


388 


knifo.  I  hare  often  severed  them  vertically  also,  horizon  tally,  and  each  sec- 
tion has  become  a  perfect  anemone.  The  fourth  and  strangest  reproduction 
is  when  detached  particles  become  perfect  specimens. 

The  anemone  attaches  itself  to  foreign  substances  by  the  flat  base,  and  a 
parent  in  loosening  its  hold  will  often  tear  away  and  leave  little  particles; 
each  of  those  will  very  soon 
assume  life  and  form,  and 
move  off  unconcernedly 
search  of  new 
quarters.  Young 
anemones  have  at 
first  but  one  row 
of  tentacles,  but 
they  increase 
gradually  outside. 
Anemones  often 
assume  an  hour- 
glass-shape, and 
freak  in  form,  hav- 
ing double  discs 
and  double  bodies. 
There  is  no  dis- 
tinction in  sex, 
each  animal  being 
perfection  in  itself. 

Though  seem- 
ing at  most  times 
station  ary,  the 
anemones  are  able 
to  move  them- 
Belves  slowly  by  a 
successive  c  o  n  - 
traction  and  loos- 
ening of  the  base, 
thus  stretching 
forward  one  side 
and  gradually 
drawing  along  the 

other.  They  vary  greatly  in  size,  dif- 
fering from  one-eighth  of  an  inch  to 
one  foot  in  diameter;  they  are  com- 
monly, however,  from  half  an  inch  to 
three  inches. 

Small  or  medium-sized  anemones 
should  be  chosen  for  stocking  a  tank, 
as  they  absorb  a  great  deal  of  sub- 
stance and  are  very  prolific.  In  large 
public  tanks,  an  excess  often  has  to  be 

removed.    When  needed  for  dissecting  purposes,  drop  in  cold  fresh  water 
to  kill. 

These  animals  are  hardy  and  long-lived,  and  accounts  are  given  us 
•where  people  have  kept  them  five,  ten  and  fifteen  years.  I  know  of  a  piece 
of  rock  covered  with  anemones  being  taktn  from  the  water  at  Wood's  Hole, 


FBINGED  ANEMONE. 


384       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Mass.,  during  the  summer.  It  was  left  to  dry  on  the  beach  for  twenty-four 
hours  as  an  experiment,  then  returned  to  the  water,  and  each  animal  as- 
sumed life  and  perfect  form. 

In  our  climate,  as  winter  approaches,  the  anemones  loosen  their  hold  and 
sink  into  deeper  and  warmer  water.  There  is  a  European  anemone  which 
attaches  itself  to  the  shell  of  one  variety  of  'hermit  crab,  and  is  carried 
about  gallantly.  It  is  an  established  fact,  also,  that  the  hermit  when  taking 
up  abode  in  a  new  shell  loosens  the  anemone  from  the  old  one  and  carries 
it  and  places  it  on  the  new. 

It  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to  decide  which  of  the  anemones,  either  in 
form  or  color,  are  most  beautiful.  Those  from  the  tropics  are  most  bril- 
liant, and  look  like  flowers  from  dreamland.  Stems  of  shaded  orange  are 
crowned  with  tentacles  of  gray,  tipped  with  crimson;  light  pink  standards 
bear  fringes  of  white,  and  a  .base  of  velvet-like  crimson  often  supports 
streamers  of  pink,  white  and  gray. 

Some  anemones  erect  themselves  to  the  height  of  four  and  six  inches, 
and  have  the  finest  and  daintiest  of  fringe.  The  "  crassicornis  "  is  shorter 
and  wider  mouthed,  and  has  thick,  short  tentacles.  The  white  armed 
anemone  is  more  slender,  and  is  so  transparent  that  all  organs  are  discerni- 
ble. 

There  is  a  beautiful  maroon  anemone  with  green  spots,  found  in  English 
waters,  with  medium-fine  tentacles,  and  crassicornis  varieties  less  brilliant 
than  our  own.  I  recently  saw  a  variety  of  German  anemones  (the  first  ever 
exhibited  in  this  country),  and  in  beauty  of  form  and  variety  of  color,  they 
excelled  anything  I  have  ever  seen.  They  were  attached  to  the  fat,  round, 
German  oysters,  and  fully  expanded.  The  fringes  were  beautifully  deli- 
cate, and  the  shades,  of  clear  orange,  cream,  velvety-gray  and  pure  white, 
could  not  be  equalled  by  the  dyes  of  our  choicest  silk  velvets. — Ida  Batty 
Roberts. 

The  Diver. — The  first  sensation  in  descending  under  water  in  a  suit  of 
armor  is  the  sudden,  bursting  roar  in  the  ears,  caused  by  the  air  driven 
into  the  helmet  from  the  air-pump.  The  flexible  air-hose  has  to  be  strong 
enough  to  bear  the  pressure  of  twenty-five  to  fifty  pounds  to  the  square 
inch.  The  drum  of  the  ear  yields  to  the  strong  external  pressure,  the 
mouth  opens  involuntarily,  the  air  rushes  into  the  tube,  and  strikes  the 
drum,  which  strikes  back  to  its  normal  state  with  a  sharp,  pistol-like  crack. 
Peering  through  the  goggle  eyes  of  glass  in  his  helmet,  the  diver  sees  the 
strange  beauties  about  him  clearly  and  in  their  own  calm  splendor.  Above 
him  is  a  pure  golden  canopy,  while  around  him  and  beside  him  are  tints 
and  shimmering  hues,  including  all  colors,  which  are  indescribably  elegant. 
The  floor  of  the  sea  rises  like  a  golden  carpet,  inclining  gently  to  the  sur- 
face. The  change  in  familiar  objects  is  wonderful.  The  wreck  of  a  ship 
seems  studded  with  emeralds,  glittering  in  lines  of  gold;  piles  of  brick  as- 
sume the  appearance  of  crystals;  a  ladder  becomes  silver,  every  shadow 
gives  the  impression  of  a  bottomless  depth. 

The  following  interesting  information  is  given  in  a  diver's  own  words:  "  I 
remember  years  ago  going  down  to  have  a  look  at  the  wreck  of  the  Forfar- 
shire.  I  dived  just  out  of  curiosity,  and  saw  the  old  hooker  plain  enough. 
Off  that  same  coast  I've  been  down  in  water  so  bright  that  I've  stood  among 
the  weeds  as  tall  as  this  room,  a  beautiful  garden  of  them,  and  watched  'em 
with  delight,  almost  to  forgetting  the  job  I  was  down  there  for,  and  I  saw  all 
kinds  of  fish  swimming  about  and  appearing  quite  close  through  the  glass 


WONDERS    OF    THE    SEA. 


885 


in  my  helmet,  though  if  I  put  out  my  hand  to  them  I  found  them  to  be 
fathoms  away.  As  a  rule  I  can't  see-  no  more  than  if  I  was  looking  through 
a  London  fog.  And  then  take  a  ship.  Suppose  you  were  to  come  into  this 
room  at  night  without  a  light  —you  couldn't  see.  So  it  is  with  a  ship's  hold 
and  cabin  under  water.  It's  pitch  dark.  A  man  can  only  grope.  But  it  is 
not  dangerous  when  you're  used  to  it.  A  bit  of  a  sea  above  is  often  incon- 
venient by  making  the  vessel  on  the  surface  roll  and  tauten  the  tackle  for 
heaving  up  the  cargo,  and  so  running  up  a  mass  of  dead  weight  on  a  sudden 
before  you're  ready,  and  then  letting  it  come  down  crash  again.  A  ground 
swell— I  mean  the  swell  at  the  bottom— is  also  troublesome,  for  it'll  swing  a 
man  to  and  fro  a 
distance  of  seven 
foet  and  more. 
But  this  is  only 
on  deck.  It's 
quiet  enough  in 
the  hold.  Even 
should  such  a 
swell  dash  a 
diver  against 
anything,  how- 
ever, it  wouldn't 
hurt  him.  The 
dress  makes  him 
so  light.  I  have 

fallen  through  many  a  yawn  in  the  ship's  decks, 
fit  to  break  a  man's  neok  and  back,  you  might 
think  for  the  depth  of  it,  and  have  came  up 
again  just  as  quietly.  Very  few  know  how  to 
converse  under  water.  If  you  were  to  stand  up 
face  to  face  with  another  man  each  might  burst 
himself  with  yelling  without  producing  the 
faintest  sound.  The  way  we  hear  is  by  lying 
down.  You  and  your  mate  must  lie  down  on 
your  breasts— head  to  head  or  side  by  side, 
close,  and  in  that  position  you'll  hear  one  an- 
other as  easily  as  two  persons  in  a  room.  When 
I  foutd  this  out  I  spoke  to  another  diver  about 
it,  and  he  would  not  believe  me.  Well,  one 
day  we  happened  to  go  down  to  a  wreck  to- 
gether. I  told  him  beforehand  what  position 
to  put  himself  in,  and  after  we  had  been  to 
work  some  time  we  came  together  and  lay 
down  as  agreed,  and  I  said:  '  Jim,  are  there  many  more  casks  left  in  the 
hold?'  'Heaps,'  he  answered  right  off.  'And  so  you  can  hear  me?' 
said  I.  '  Aye,'  he  answered,  '  wonderfully  plain,'  and  with  that  he 
laughed,  and  so  did  I,  and  we  both  heard  each  other's  laugh  just  as  we 
heard  each  other's  words.  We  were  in  about  eleven  fathoms  of  water  at 
the  time." 

The  Corals  of  the  Indian  Ocean Of  all  the  wonderful  sights  in 

tliis  land  of  wonders,  there  are  none  greater  than  the  wonders  of  the  reef 
wjieu  the  tide  is  low.    The  ideas  about  3oral  which  people  have  wtyo  have 


THE   DIVEB. 


SW    'CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

never  Been  it  in  its  living  state  are  generally  erroneous.  They  know  it  as  a 
beautifully  white  ornament  under  a  glass  shade,  or  in  delicate  pink  branches 
in  their  jewelry,  and  they  imagine  living  coral  is  like  these.  Their  ideas 
are  helped  along  by  the  common  misnomer  of  trees  and  branches,  as  ap- 
plied to  coral.  I  have  never  seen  it  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  but 
throughout  the  Eastern  seas  the  most  common  variety  takes  a  laminated 
form,  not  unlike  the  large  fungi  to  be  met  with  any  summer's  day  in  an 
English  wood  growing  out  of  the  older  trees.  Flat,  circular  tables  of  dingy 
brown,  growing  over  one  another,  with  spaces  under  each.  These  attain  a 
great  size,  extending  for  yards  without  a  break,  so  that  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  is  perfectly  level.  Thia  kind  is  much  sought  after  by  tbe  lime-burners. 
Another  species  grows  in  detached  bosses,  like  thick-stemmed  plants  which 
the  gardener  has  trimmed  round  the  top.  These  clumps  grow  out  of  the 
Band  and  stand  up  in  dull  brown  against  the  white  flooring.  A  third  pat- 
tern is  spiked  like  stags'  horns  tangled  together,  and  ifl  ot  a  dingier  brown 
than  the  first;  its  spikes  collect  the  drifting  weeds,  and  its  appearance  is 
consequently  untidy.  There  are  scores  of  varieties  of  corals  and  madre- 
pores, but  the  three  mentioned  are  those  which  principally  make  up  the 
mass  which  is  ever  growing  uuder  the  still  waters  inside  the  reef.  At 
Maheburg  the  reef  is  distant  seven  miles  from  the  shore,  and  the  whole  of 
this  great  lagoon  is  in  process  of  filling  up  by  coral.  There  are  one  or  two 
holes,  left  capriciously,  and  a  channel  which  the  river  has  cut  to  the  reef, 
which  it  pierces  in  what  is  locally  called  "a  pass."  Everywhere  else  the 
bottom  is  only  a  few  feet  under  water,  and  is  always  slowly  rising.  The 
various  corals,  the  patches  of  silver  sand,  the  deep  winding  channel,  lend 
each  a  tint  to  the  water — sapphire  blue,  where  it  is  deepest,  sea-green  with 
emerald  flecks,  or  cerulean  blue  shot  with  opaline  tints,  in  the  shallows. 
The  reef  is  a  solid  wall,  shelving  toward  the  shore,  absolutely  perpendicu- 
lar toward  the  ocean,  and  varies  in  width  from  twenty  to  one  hundred 
yards.  Against  the  outer  face  the  rollers  rage  incessantly.  Swell  follows 
swell  smoothly  and  regularly.  There  is  no  hurry,  for  here  there  is  no 
shelving  bottom  to  keep  them  back.  On  they  come,  separating  their  ink- 
blue  masses  from  the  tumble  of  the  ocean,  rearing  aloft  their  crests,  like 
live  things  anxious  to  try  their  strength,  and  fall  with  a  roar  on  its  edge  as 
it  stands  up  to  meet  them.  You  can  stand  within  a  few  feet  of  the  practi- 
cally bottomless  sea  and  Watch  them  tumble,  with  the  water  no  further 
than  your  knees,  as  the  surge  of  their  onward  rush  carries  across  the  reef. 
To  stand  so  and  watch  them  coming  on  appears,  to  one  unused  to  the  sight, 
to  court  destruction,  the  wave  is  so  vast,  its  crest  rising  higher  as  it  ad- 
vances, shuts  out  the  sea  beyond,  nothing  can  be  seen  but  a  wall  of  water 
rolling  on;  its  strength  is  apparently  so  irresistible,  and  the  pause  it  appears 
to  take  as  the  top  curls  over  seems  to  check  your  breath.  The  rocks  and 
lumps  of  dead  coral  with  which  storms  have  strewed  the  reef  are  high  and 
dry;  the  pools  of  limpid  water  in  the  holes  sink  down  and  drain  away,  their 
surface  glassy,  and  their  depths  full  of  color  and  strange-shaped  living 
things;  then  the  roller  breaks  and  sends  a  surge  of  water  hissing  by,  and 
the  reef  has  sunk  beneath  the  foam  and  bubbling  water. 

Coral  Fishing Coral  fisheries  on  the  coasts  of  Italy  and  Sicily  begin 

about  the  middle  of  February,  and  continue  till  the  middle  of  October.  The 
value  of  the  coral  varies  according  to  its  color  and  size;  the  pale  pink  is  the 
most  prized,  especially  if  it  be  of  a  uniform  color  throughout,  without 
etaina.  Off  Torre  del  Greco,  near  Naples,  a  large  quantity  of  coral  is  1'ound 


WONDERS    OF    THE   SEA.  387 

every  year;  from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred  boats  are  sent  out  in  search 
of  it,  each  boat  being  of  from  six  to  ten  tons'  burden,  with  a  crew  of  at  least 
twelve  men,  and  costing  from  $2,500  to  $3,000  a  boat.  The  valuable  pink 
coral  is  found  chiefly  off  the  coast  of  Sicily.  In  the  year  1873  a  bed  was 
discovered  in  the  Straits  of  Messina,  in  which  the  coral,  though  found  only 
in  small  quantities  and  of  a  small  size,  was  of  immense  value,  owing  to  its 
beautiful  pink,  of  a  uniform  color,  and  without  any  of  those  stains  which 
detract  so  much  from  its  worth.  Unfortunately,  the  supply  of  coral  in  this 
bed  seems  to  have  run  short,  and  for  the  last  few  years  coral  merchants 
have  not  found  it  worth  their  while  to  send  boats  in  search  of  it. 

In  1875  a  local  bed  was  discovered  about  twenty  miles  off  the  coast  of 
Sciacca,  in  Sicily,  which  was  invaded  for  the  next  two  years  by  seven  hun- 
dred boats.  This  number,  all  crowded  together  in  one  spot,  caused  grea< 


SHELLS  OF  THE  INDIAN  OCEAN. 

confusion,  and  the  Italian  Government  sent  a  man-of-war  to  keep  order 
among  the  fishermen.  Another  similar  bed  was  discovered  hi  1878,  about 
ten  miles  farther  from  the  coast,  and  in  1880  yet  another  still  farther.  The 
coral  found  off  the  coast  of  Sciacca  does  not  grow,  as  at  other  places,  at- 
tached to  rocks,  but  is  found  clinging  to  any  small  object  it  can  lay  hold  of, 
such  as  a  shell  or  a  fragment  of  coral.  It  is  supposed  that  its  dark  red  or 
black  color  is  caused  by  the  muddiness  of  the  water  in  which  it  lives,  al- 
though the  depth  of  the  sea  at  such  spots  is  from  three  hundred  to  foui 
hundred  and  fifty  feet.  This  coral  is  not  much  esteemed  in  the  English 
market,  but  is  prepared  in  large  quantities  for  the  Indian  market  at  Cal- 
cutta, by  being  exposed  for  months  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  by  being 
kept  moist,  when  in  time  the  black  color  gradually  disappears.  A  few  years 
ago  a  large  quantity  of  Japanese  coral  found  its  way  into  the  market  at 
Naples,  and  fetched  as  much  as  $750  the  kilo,  in  raw  branches,  in  spite  of 
its  being  a  bad  color  and  somewhat  cloudy.  This  high  price  was  given  on 
account  of  its  extraordinary  size— it  was  the  largest  real  coral  ever  knowp. 


888       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Nothing  has  been  heard  of  it  since,  excepting  that  the  fishery  was  prohibited 
in  Japan. 

Shells  of  the  Indian  Ocean — No  sea  shells  are  so  beautiful  aa 
those  found  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  As  the  vegetation  of  tropical  countries  is 
of  surpassing  beauty,  so  do  the  waters  of  these  climates  yield  the  most 
wonderful  and  beautiful  things.  Our  illustration  will  convey  an  idea  of  the 
magnificent  shells  found  upon  the  shores  of  Southern  Asia. 

Fearl  Pishing. — The  most  famous  pearls  are  those  from  the  East;  the 
coast  of  Ceylon,  or  Taprobane,  as  it  was  called  by  the  Greeks,  having  from 
the  earliest  times  been  the  chi«f  locality  for  pearl  fishing.  They  are,  how- 
ever, obtained  now  of  nearly  the  same  quality  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  as 
Panama  in  South  America,  St.  Margarita  in  the  West  Indies,  the  Coro- 
maudel  Coast,  the  shores  of  the  Sooloo  Islands,  the  Bahrein  Islands,  and 
the  islands  of  Karak  and  Corgo  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  pearls  of  the 
Bahrein  fishery  are  said  to  be  even  finer  than  those  of  Ceylon,  and  they  form 
an  important  part  of  the  trade  of  Bassora.  These,  and  indeed  all  the  for- 
eign pearls  used  in  jewelry,  are  produced  by  the  pearl  oyster.  The  shells 
of  the  molluscs  which  yield  the  Ceylon,  Indian,  and  Persian  ones,  are  some- 
times as  much  as  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  are  usually  about  nine  inches. 
Those  of  the  New  World,  although  the  shells  are  smaller  and  thicker,  are 
believed  to  be  the  same  species.  The  chief  locality  of  the  Ceylon  pearl 
fishery  is  a  bank  about  twenty  miles  long,  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  shore, 
opposite  to  the  villages  of  Condatchy  and  Arippo  on  the  northern  coast. 
The  season  of  the  fishery  lasts  about  three  months,  commencing  at  the  be- 
ginning of  February,  and  is  carried  on  under  government  regulations.  The 
boats  employed  are  open,  and  vary  in  size  from  ten  to  fifteen  tons  burden; 
they  put  out  at  night,  usually  at  ten  o'clock,  on  a  signal  gun  being  fired  from 
the  fort  of  Arippo,  and  make  for  the  government  guard  vessel,  which  is 
moored  on  the  bank,  and  serves  the  double  purpose  of  a  guard  and  a  light- 
ship. The  divers  are  under  the  direction  of  a  manager,  who  is  called  the 
Adapanaar,  and  they  are  chiefly  Tamils  and  Moors  from  India.  For  each 
diver  there  is  provided  a  diving  stone,  weighing  about  thirty  pounds,  which 
is  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  rope  long  enough  to  reach  the  bottom,  and  having 
a  loop  made  for  the  man's  foot;  and  in  addition  to  this,  a  large  network 
basket,  in  which  to  place  the  pearl  oysters  as  he  collects  them.  These  are 
hung  over  the  sides  of  the  boat;  and  the  diver,  placing  his  foot  in  the  loop 
attached  to  the  stone,  liberates  the  coils  of  the  rope,  and  with  his  net-basket 
rapidly  descends  to  the  bottom.  To  each  boat  there  is  usually  allotted  a 
crew  of  thirteen  men  and  ten  divers,  five  of  whom  are  descending  while  the 
others  are  resting.  This  work  is  done  very  rapidly;  for,  notwithstanding 
the  stories  to  the  contrary,  the  best  divers  cannot  remain  longer  than  eighty 
seconds  below,  and  few  are  able  to  exceed  sixty.  The  greatest  depth  they 
descend  is  thirteen  fathoms,  and  the  usual  depth  about  nine  fathoms.  When 
the  diver  gives  the  signal  by  pulling  the  rope,  he  is  quickly  hauled  up  with 
his  net  and  its  contents.  Accidents  rarely  happen;  and  as  the  men  are  very 
superstitious,  their  safety  is  attributed  to  the  incantations  of  their  shark- 
charmers,  performed  at  the  commencement  of  the  fishing.  Sir  E.  Tennent, 
however,  attributes  the  rarity  of  accidents  from  sharks,  usually  so  abundant 
in  tropical  seas,  to  the  bustle  and  to  the  excitement  of  the  waters  during  the 
fishery  frightening  away  those  dreaded  creatures.  The  divers  are  soroe- 
\  times  paid  fixed  wages,  others  agree  for  one-fourth  of  the  produce.  Wheg 


WONDERS    OF    THE   SEA.  389 

a  boat-load  of  oysters  has  been  obtained,  it  returns  to  shore,  and  the  cargo, 
sometimes  amounting  to  twenty  or  thirty  thousand,  is  landed  and  piled  on 
the  shore  to  die  and  putrefy,  in  order  that  the  pearls  may  be  easily  found. 
The  heaps  are  formed  in  small  walled  compartments,  the  walls  surround- 
ing each  being  one  or  two  feet  in  height.  Several  of  these  compartments 
surround  a  small  central  enclosure,  in  which  is  a  bath,  and  they  slope 
towards  this  bath,  and  are  each  connected  with  it  by  a  small  channel,  so 
that  any  pearls  washed  out  from  the  putrefying  mass  by  the  ram  may  be 
carried  into  the  bath.  When  the  animals  in  the  shells  are  sufficiently  de- 
composed, the  washing  commences,  and  great  care  is  taken  to  watch  for  the 
loose  pearls,  which  are  always  by  far  the  most  valuable;  the  shells  are  then 
examined,  and  if  any  attached  pearls  are  seen,  they  are  handed  over  to  the 
clippers,  who,  with  pinchers  or  hammer,  skillfully  remove  them.  Such 
pearls  are  used  only  for  setting;  whilst  the  former,  being  usually  quite 
round,  are  drilled  and  strung,  and  can  be  used  for  beads,  etc.  The  work- 
men who  are  employed  to  drill  the  pearls  also  round  the  irregular  ones, 
and  polish  them  with  great  skill.  The  method  of  holding  the  pearls  during 
these  operations  is  very  curious;  they  make  a  number  of  holes  of  small 
depth  in  a  piece  of  dry  wood,  and  into  these  they  fit  the  pearls,  so  that  they 
are  only  partly  below  the  surface  of  the  wood,  which  they  then  place  in 
water.  As  it  soaks  up  the  water  and  swells,  the  pearls  become  tightly  fixed, 
and  are  then  perforated,  etc.  These  operations  are  all  carried  on  on  the  spot. 

For  many  miles  along  the  Condatchy  shore,  the  accumulation  of  shells 
is  enormous,  and  averages  at  least  four  feet  in  thickness.  This  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  it  is  remembered  that  this  fishery  has  been  in  active 
operation  for  at  least  two  thousand  years.  The  place  itself  is  exceedingly 
barren  and  dreary,  and,  except  during  the  fishing  season,  is  almost  deserted; 
but  at  that  time  it  presents  an  exceedingly  animated  spectacle;  thousands 
of  people,  of  various  countries  and  castes,  are  here  drawn  together — some 
for  the  fishery,  others  to  buy  pearls,  and  others  to  feed  the  multitude.  They 
chiefly  reside  in  tents,  so  that  it  appears  a  vast  encampment. 

The  pearls  vary  much  in  size;  those  as  large  as  a  pea,  and  of  good  colot 
and  form  are  the  best,  except  unusually  large  specimens,  which  rarely 
occur,  the  most  extraordinary  one  known  being  the  pearl  owned  by  the  late 
Mr.  Hope,  which  measured  two  inches  in  length  and  four  in  circumference, 
and  weighed  eighteen  hundred  grains.  The  smaller  ones  are  sorted  into 
sizes,  the  very  smallest  being  called  seed-pearls.  A  considerable  quantity 
of  these  last  are  sent  to  China,  where  they  are  said  to  be  calcined,  and  used 
in  Chinese  pharmacy.  Among  the  Romans,  the  pearl  was  a  great  favorite, 
and  enormous  prices  were  paid  for  fine  ones.  One  author  gives  the  value 
of  a  string  of  pearls  at  one  million  sesterces,  or  about  $40,000.  The  single 
pearl  which  Cleopatra  is  said  to  have  dissolved  and  swallowed  was  valued 
at  $400,000;  and  one  of  the  same  value  was  cut  into  two  pieces  for  earrings 
for  the  statue  of  Venus  in  the  Pantheon  at  Eome.  Coming  down  to  later 
times,  we  read  of  a  pearl,  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  belonging  to  Sir 
Thomas  Gresham,  which  was  valued  at  $75,000,  and  which  he  is  said  to 
have  treated  after  the  fashion  of  Cleopatra,  for  he  powdered  it  and  drank  it 
in  a  glass  of  wine  to  the  health  of  the  Queen,  in  order  to  astonish  the  am- 
bassador of  Spain,  with  whom  he  had  laid  a  wager  that  he  would  give  a 
more  costly  dinner  than  could  the  Spaniard. 

Sponges. — While  handling  sponge  in  its  prepared  state,  as  we  see  it  in 
the  shope,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  it  belongs  to  the  animal  kingdom. 


390      CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Sponge,  however,  is  not  the  animal  itself,  but  only  its  skeleton,  or  frame- 
work, as  it  were.  That  which  constitutes  the  living  portion  ot  the  animal  ia 
removed  in  preparing  the  sponge  for  market.  The  animal  proper  covers 
the  framework,  and  is  of  a  jelly-like  appearance,  like  that  of  other  low  forms 
of  animal  life.  Various  openings  and  channels  allow  the  passage  of  water 
through  all  parts  of  the  mass,  and  the  gelatinous  portion  has  microscopic 
hairs,  which  are  capable  of  rapid  motion,  and  by  their  means  water  is  drawn 
into  and  forced  out  of  the  sponge.  When  divided,  the  living  sponge  seems 
to  suffer  no  inconvenience,  but  each  part  sets  up  on  its  own  account,  lives 
on  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and  it  becomes  two  sponges. 

The  best  sponge  of  commerce  is  found  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  is 
known  as  Turkey  or  Smyrna  sponge;  this  is  obtained  by  divers.    Bahama 


A  LIVING  SPONGE. 

or  West  India  sponge  is  coarser,  and  is  sold  at  a  much  less  price.  Much 
sponge  is  gathered  off  the  coast  of  Southern  Florida.  Indeed,  the  Florida 
sponge  fisheries  furnish  employment  to  many  men  and  boats. 

When  a  vessel  arrives  at  the  fishing  ground  in  the  Bahama  Islands,  it  is 
anchored,  and  the  men  in  small  boats  proceed  to  look  for  sponges  in  the 
water  below.  The  water  is  a  beautiful  light-blue  color,  and  so  clear  a  six- 
pence can  easily  be  seen  on  the  white  sandy  bottom  in  thirty-five  to  forty 
feet  of  water.  Of  course  when  there  is  no  wind,  and  the  surface  of  the  water 
is  still,  the  sponges  are  easily  seen,  but  when  a  gentle  breeze  is  blowing  a 
"  sea-glass "  is  used.  A  sea-glass  consists  of  a  square  pine  box  about 
twenty  inches  in  length,  a  pane  of  glass  about  tea  by  twelve  inches  placed 


WONDERS    OF    THE   SEA.  191 

in  one  end,  water-tight.  To  use  it,  the  glass  end  is  thrust  into  the  water, 
and  the  face  of  the  operator  is  placed  close  to  the  other.  By  this  means  the 
ware  motions  of  the  water  are  overcome,  and  the  bottom  readily  seen. 
Sponges  when  seen  on  the  bottom  attached  to  the  rocks,  look  like  a  big  black 
bunch.  They  are  pulled  off  their  natural  beds  by  forked  hooks,  which  are 
run  down  under  the  sponge,  which  is  formed  like  the  head  of  a  cabbage,  and 
the  roots  pulled  from  the  rocks. 

When  brought  to  the  surface  it  is  a  mass  of  soft,  glutinous  stuff,  which 
to  the  touch  feels  like  soap  or  thick  jelly.  When  a  small  boat  load  is  ob- 
tained they  are  taken  to  the  shore,  where  a  crawl  is  built  in  which  they  are 
placed  to  die,  so  that  the  jelly  substance  will  readily  separate  from  the  firm 
fibre  of  the  sponge.  These  crawls  are  built  by  sticking  pieces  of  brush  into 
the  sand  out  of  the  water,  large  enough  to  contain  the  catch.  It  takes  from 
five  to  six  days  for  the  insect  to  die,  when  the  sponges  are  beaten  with  small 
sticks,  and  the  black  glutinous  substance  falld  off,  leaving  the  sponge,  after 
a  thorough  washing,  ready  for  market. 

Tie  "Conch.  Pearl." — Many  people,  says  the  Scientific  American, 
have  doubtless  frequently  seen  and  admired  the  delicately  tinted,  pink- 
faced  shells  which  are  extensively  used  in  the  United  States  for  bordering 
garden  walks  and  other  ornamental  purposes,  but  few  probably  are  aware 
that  in  the  conch  which  forms  and  inhabits  this  shell  is  occasionally  found 
a  very  lovely  gem,  known  to  lapidaries  as  the  conch  pearl.  When  perfect, 
the  pearl  is  either  round  or  egg-shaped  and  somewhat  larger  than  a  pea,  of 
a  beautiful  rose-color,  and  watered— that  is,  presenting,  when  held  to  the 
light,  the  sheeny,  wavy  appearance  of  watered  silk.  It  is,  however,  a  very 
rare  circumstance  to  find  a  pearl  which  possesses  all  the  requirements  that 
constitute  a  perfect  gem,  and  when  such  does  happen,  it  proves  an  ex- 
ceedingly valuable  prize  to  its  fortunate  finder.  A  good  pearl  is  very  valu- 
able indeed,  some  having  been  sold  in  Nassau  for  no  less  a  sum  than  four 
hundred  dollars.  Although  many  of  these  pearls  are  annually  obtained  by 
the  fishermen  in  the  Bahamas,  not  more  than  one  in  twenty  proves  to  be  a 
really  good  gem,  and  hence  probably  their  high  price. 

Pink  is  the  most  common  and  only  desirable  color,  although  white,  yel- 
low and  brown  pearls  are  occasionally  found.  Even  among  the  pink  ones 
there  is  usually  some  defect  which  mars  their  beauty  and  materially  injures 
them;  some  are  very  irregular  in  shape,  and  covered,  apparently,  with 
knobs  or  protuberances;  others  are  too  small,  while  many  lack  the  watering 
which  gives  them  their  great  value  and  chief  beauty. 

The  conch  abounds  in  the  waters  of  the  Bahamas,  and  thousands  of  them 
are  annually  obtained  and  destroyed"  for  their  shells,  which  form  quite  an 
article  of  commerce,  but  in  not  one  conch  in  a  thousand  is  a  pearl  found. 
When  this  is  taken  into  account,  and  the  other  fact,  that  not  more  than  one 
in  twenty  of  pearls  found  turns  out  to  be  perfect,  it  will  at  once  be  seen  that 
a  good  conch  pearl  will  always  be  a  rare  and  costly  gem.  In  fact,  their 
value  within  the  last  few  years  has  almost  doubled,  and  the  demand  fcr 
them  is  steadily  increasing. 

A  Sea  Aster  Attached  to  a  Crab.-  The  species  of  sea  aster  oftea- 
est  found  on  the  coast  of  New  Jersey  and  northward,  though  not  among  th« 
most  attractive,  ia  nevertheless  a  very  interesting  specimen.  Me  is  gener- 
ally of  a  dingy  Or  creamy  white,  striped  and  dotted  with  a  rich  brown,  and 
above  all  crowned  with  an  ibuadant  spread  of  pink  and  white  feathery  t«»- 


892      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

tacles.  Unlike  most  of  his  race,  he  does  not  delight  in  solitary  and  local 
position,  and  so  seems  to  have  caught  the  spirit  of  his  native  land,  and  seeks 
for  new  scenes;  and,  not  to  be  behind  his  biped  neighbors,  he  prefers  that 
ethers  should  give  him  a  free  ticket  for  all  his  journeys.  He  glues  himself 


A  SEA  ASTEB  ATTACHED  TO  A  CRAB. 

to  the  shell  of  some  crab  or  periwinkle,  and  takes  a  gratuitous  ride  to  any 
place  where  it  may  feel  disposed  to  carry  him. 

The  Floor  of  the  Ocean — Here  ia  an  end  of  all  romance  about 
hidden  ocean  depths.  We  can  speculate  no  longer  about  peris  in  chambers 
of  pearl,  or  mermaids,  or  heaped  treasures  and  dead  men's  bones  whitening 
in  coral  caves.  The  whole  ocean  floor  is  now  mapped  out  for  us.  The  re- 
port of  the  expedition  sent  out  from  London  in  Her  Majesty's  ship  "  Chal- 
lenger "  has  recently  been  published.  Nearly  four  years  were  given  to  the 
examination  of  the  currents  and  floors  of  the  four  great  oceans  of  the  world. 


WONDERS    OF    TSS   SEA.  393 

The  Atlantic,  we  are  told,  if  drained,  would  be  a  vast  plain,  with  a  moun- 
tain range  in  the  middle  running  parallel  with  our  coast.  Another  range 
crosses  it  from  Newfoundland  to  Ireland,  on  top  of  which  lies  a  submarine 
cable.  The  ocean  is  thus  divided  into  three  great  basins,  no  longer  "  un- 
fathomable depths." 

The  tops  of  these  sea  mountains  are  two  miles  below  a  sailing  ship,  and 
the  basins,  according  to  Reeius,  are  fifteen  miles,  which  is  deep  enough  for 
drowning,  if  not  for  mystery. 

The  mountains  are  whitened  for  thousands  of  miles  by  a  tiny  creamy 
shell.  The  depths  are  red  in  color,  heaped  with  volcanic  masses.  Through 
the  black,  motionless  water  of  these  abysses  move  gigantic  abnormal  crea- 
tures, which  never  rise  to  upper  currents. 

There  is  an  old  legend  coming  down  to  us  from  the  first  ages  of  the 
\vorld  on  which  these  scientific  Dead  Sea  soundings  throw  a  curious  light. 
Plato  and  Solon  record  the  tradition,  ancient  in  their  days,  of  a  country  in 
the  western  seas  where  flourished  the  first  civilization  of  mankind,  which, 
by  volcanic  action,  was  submerged  and  lost.  The  same  story  is  told  by  the 
Central  Americans,  who  still  celebrate,  in  the  fast  of  Izcalli,  the  frightful 
cataclysm  which  destroyed  this  land  with  its  stately  cities. 

De  Bourbourgh  and  other  archaeologists  assert  that  this  land  extended 
from  Mexico  beyond  the  West  Indies.  The  shape  of  the  plateau  discovered 
by  the  "Challenger"  corresponds  with  this  theory.  What  if  some  keen 
Yankee  should  yet  dredge  out  from  its  unfathomed  slime  the  lost  Atlantis  ? 

At  the  Bottom  of  the  Indian  Ocean — Who  can  tell  of  all  the  won- 
drous things  that  live  in  the  sea  ?  In  the  Indian  Ocean,  many  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  water,  grow  woods  quite  as  luxuriant  as  any  jungles  or 
thickets  we  read  of  in  South  America.  Some  of  the  trees  grow  as  high  as 
two  houses  piled  on  one  another.  They  are  called  by  a  hard  name — "  Nero- 
cysten."  The  roots  resemble  coral,  and  from  the  slender  stem  grows  a 
cluster  of  very  long  leaves.  Other  trees  grow  almost  as  high,  and  end  hi 
one  single  huge  leaf  that  is  about  the  size  of  our  forest  trees.  Bushes— 
green,  yellow  and  red — are  dotted  here  and  there,  and  a  velvety  carpet  of 
diminutive  plants  covers  the  ground.  Flowers  in  all  the  tints  of  the  rain- 
bow ornament  the  rocks,  and  large  leaves  of  the  iris,  of  dazzling  pink  and 
red,  float  among  them,  and  sea-anemones,  as  large  and  brilliant  as  cactus- 
flowers,  form  beds  in  the  moss.  Blue,  red,  purple  and  green  little  fish  dart 
here  and  there,  and  between  the  bushes  glides  like  a  serpent  the  long 
silvery  ribbon  fish.  Thus  beautiful  it  is  in  the  day;  but  when  night  comes 
on,  and  you  suppose  all  creatures  gone  to  bed,  the  landscape  grows  more 
lovely  still.  Little  crabs  and  medusas  light  up  the  sea;  the  sea-pen  quivers 
with  green  phosphoric  light;  what  was  brown  and  red  in  the  day  is  changed 
into  bright  green,  yellow  and  red;  and  among  all  these  glittering  jewels  the 
moonfish  floats  like  a  silvery  crescent. 

A  Murderous  Sea  Flower — One  of  the  exquisite  wonders  of  the 
sea  is  called  the  opelet,  and  is  about  as  large  as  the  German  aster,  looking, 
indeed,  very  much  like  one.  Imagine  a  very  large  double  aster,  with  a 
great  many  long  petals  of  a  light  green  color,  glossy  satin,  and  each  one 
tipped  with  rose  color.  These  lovely  petals  do  not  lie  quietly  in  their 
places,  but  wave  about  in  the  water,  while  the  opelet  clings  to  the  rock. 
How  innocent  and  lovely  it  looks  on  its  rocky  bed!  Who  should  suspect 
that  it  would  eat  anything  grosser  than  dew  and  sunlight?  But  thos« 


SM      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VSEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

beantiful  waving  arms,  as  you  call  them,  have  rises  besides  looking  pretty. 
They  have  to  provide  for  a  large,  open  mouth,  which  is  hidden  down  deep 
among  them — so  hidden  that  one  can  scarcely  find  it.  Well  do  they  per- 
form their  duty,  for  the  instant  a  foolish  little  fish  touches  one  of  the  rosy 
tips,  he  is  struck  with  poison  as  fatal  to  him  as  lightning.  He  immediately 
becomes  numb,  and  in  a  moment  stops  struggling,  and  then  the  other  arms 
wrap  themselves  around  him,  and  he  is  drawn  into  the  huge,  greedy  mouth, 
and  is  seen  no  more.  Then  the  lovely  arms  unclose,  and  wave  again  in  the 
water. 

A  Singular  Star  Fish — The  most  singular  of  all  the  star  fishes  is 
the  splendid  Astrophyton.    Its  center  is  not  unlike  the  gorgeous  appear- 


A  8INGULAK   8TAK  FISH. 

ance  of  a  Chinese  wheel;  but  what  a  curious  tie  of  twisting  and  twining  ten- 
tacles. From  the  central  disc  five  stout  arms  branch  out,  which  are  sub- 
divided at  once,  and  these  again  in  turn;  and  so  on  continuously  until  more 
than  eighty  thousand  branches  are  formed,  puzzling  the  eye  to  search  out 
the  mass  of  ramifications.  All  these  tentacles  are  extremely  flexible,  and 
are  generally  kept  wreathing  and  twisting;  but  when  the  animal  chooses, 
they  can  be  so  closely  drawn  up  as  to  give  the  shape  of  a  globular  basket; 
hence  the  creature  is  often  called  by  the  fishermen  the  "  Sea  Basket."  By 
stretching  out  this  ma»B  of  long  tentacles,  the  animal  forms  a  large  net,  by 
means  of  which  it  effects  its  captures  and  holds  the  victim  to  its  mouth. 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE. 


The  Earth.— To  a  spectator  so  placed  as  to  have  an  unobstructed  view 
all  ronnd,  the  earth  appears  a  circular  plain,  on  whose  circumference  the 
vault  of  heaven  seems  to  rest.  Accordingly,  in  ancient  times,  even  philoso- 
phers long  looked  upon  the  earth  as  a  flat  disc  swimming  upon  the  water. 
But  many  appearances  were  soon  observed  to  be  at  variance  with  this  idea, 
and  even  hi  antiquity,  the  spherical  form  of  the  earth  began  to  be  suspected 
by  individuals.  It  is  only  by  assuming  the  earth  to  be  spherical,  that  wa 
can  explain  how  our  circle  of  vision  becomes  wider  as  our  position  is  more 
elevated;  and  how  the  tops  of  towers,  mountains,  masts  of  ships,  and  the 
lake  come  first  into  view  as  we  approach  them.  There  are  many  other 
proofs  that  the  earth  is  a  globe.  Thus,  as  wo  advance  from  the  polea 
towards  the  equator,  new  stars,  formerly  invisible,  come  gradually  into 
view;  the  shadow  of  the  earth  upon  the  moon  during  an  eclipse  is  always 
ronnd;  the  same  momentary  appearance  in  the  heavens  is  seen  at  different 
hours  of  the  day  in  different  places  on  the  earth's  surface;  and  lastly,  the 
earth,  since  1519,  has  been  circumnavigated  innumerable  times.  The  ob- 
jection to  this  view  that  readily  arises  from  our  unthinking  impressions  of 
up  and  down,  which  immediately  suggests  the  picture  of  the  inhabitants  ol 
the  opposite  side  of  the  earth — our  antipodes — with  their  heads  downwards, 
Is  easily  got  over  by  considering  that  on  all  parts  of  the  earth's  surface, 
down  is  towards  the  earth's  center. 

It  is  not,  however,  strictly  true  that  the  earth  is  a  sphere;  it  is  slightly 
flattened  or  compressed  at  two  opposite  points — the  poles — as  has  been 
proved  by  actual  measurement  of  degrees  of  latitude,  and  by  observations 
of  the  pendulum.  It  is  found  that  a  degree  of  a  meridian  is  not  everywhere 
of  the  same  length  as  it  would  be  if  the  earth  were  a  perfect  sphere,  but  in- 
creases from  the  equator  to  tffe  poles;  from  which  it  is  rightly  inferred 
that  the  earth  is  flattened  there.  A  pendulum,  again,  of  a  given  length  is 
found  to  move  faster  when  carried  towards  the  poles,  and  slower  when  car- 
ried towards  the  equator,  which  shows  that  the  force  of  gravity  is  less  at  the 
equator  than  at  the  poles,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  center,  the  seat  of 
gravity,  is  more  distant  at  the  former  than  at  the  latter.  The  diminished 
force  of  gravity  at  the  equator  has,  it  is  true,  another  cause,  namely,  the 
centrifugal  force  arising  from  the  rotation  of  the  earth,  which  acts  counter 
to  gravitation,  and  is  necessarily  greatest  at  the  equator,  and  gradually  les- 
sens as  we  move  northwards  or  southwards,  till  at  the  poles  it  is  nothing. 
But  the  diminution  of  the  force  of  gravity  at  the  equator  arising  from  the 
centrifugal  force  amounts  to  only  1-289  of  the  whole  force;  while  the  diminu- 
tion indicated  by  the  pendulum  is  1-194.  The  difference,  or  1-580  nearly, 
tamains  assignable  to  the  greater  distance  of  the  surface  from  the  center  at 
the  ,*ouator  than  at  the  poles. 

We  have  now  seen  that  the  earth  is  a  sphere  slightly  flattened  at  its  pole* 
— what  is  called  by  geometers  an  elliptical  spheroid — ef  a  me&n  radius  ot 
somewhat  Jeeg  tb'aJJ  four  thousand,  miles,  Wo  have  next  to  consider  ita 


896       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

mass  and  density.  Nothing  astonishes  the  young  student  more  than  the 
idea  of  weighing  the  earth;  but  there  are  several  ways  of  doing  it;  and  un- 
less we  could  do  it,  we  never  could  know  its  density.  (1.)  The  first  method 
is  by  observing  how  much  the  attraction  of  a  mountain  deflects  a  plummet 
from  the  vertical  line.  This  being  observed,  if  we  can  ascertain  the  actual 
weight  of  the  mountain,  we  can  calculate  that  of  the  earth.  In  this  way, 
Dr.  Maskelyne,  ha  the  years  1774-1776,  by  experiments  at  Schihallion,  in 
Perthshire,  a  large  mountain  mass  tying  east  and  west,  and  steep  on  both 
sides — calculated  the  earth's  mean  density  to  be  five  times  greater  than  that 
of  water.  The  observed  deflection  of  the  plummet  in  these  experiments 
was  between  4"  to  5".  (2.)  In  the  method  just  described,  there  must  al- 
ways be  uncertainty,  however  accurate  the  observations,  in  regard  to  the 
mass  or  weight  of  the  mountain.  The  method  known  as  Cavendish's  experi- 
ment is  much  freer  from  liability  to  error.  This  experiment  was  first  made 
by  Henry  Cavendish  on  the  suggestion  of  Michel,  and  has  since  been  re- 
peated by  Keich  of  Freyberg,  and  Mr.  Francis  Baily.  The  apparatus  used 
by  Mr.  Baily  has  two  small  balls  at  the  extremities  of  a  fine  rod  suspended 
by  a  wire,  and  their  position  carefully  observed  by  the  aid  of  a  telescope. 
Large  balls  of  lead,  placed  on  a  turning-frame,  are  then  brought  near  them 
in  such  a  way  that  they  can  affect  them  only  by  the  force  of  their  attraction. 
On  the  large  balls  being  so  placed,  the  small  ones  move  towards  them 
through  a  small  space,  which  is  carefully  measured.  The  position  of  the 
large  balls  is  then  reversed,  and  the  change  of  position  of  the  small  balls  is 
again  observed.  Many  observations  are  made,  till  the  exact  amount  of  the 
deviation  of  the  small  balls  is  ascertained  beyond  doubt.  Then  by  calcula- 
tion the  amount  of  attraction  of  the  large  balls  to  produce  this  deviation  is 
easily  obtained.  Having  reached  this,  the  next  question  is,  what  would 
their  attraction  be  if  they  were  as  large  as  the  earth  ?  This  is  easily  an- 
swered, and  hence,  as  we  know  the  attractive  force  of  the  earth,  we  can  at 
once  compare  its  mean  density  with  that  of  lead.  Mr.  Baily's  experiments 
lead  to  the  result  that  the  earth's  mean  density  is  5'67  times  that  of  water. 
(3.)  A  third  mode  has  lately  been  adopted  by  the  Astronomer-royal,  by 
comparison  of  two  invariable  pendulums,  one  at  the  earth's  surface,  the 
other  at  the  bottom  of  a  pit  at  Harton  Colliery,  near  Newcastle,  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  below  the  surface.  The  density  of  the 
earth,  as  ascertained  from  this  experiment,  is  between  six  and  seven  times 
that  of  water;  but  for  various  reasons  this  result  is  not  to  be  accepted  as 
against  that  of  the  Cavendish  experiment,  and  it  is  said  that  the  Astronomer- 
royal  was  himself  dissatisfied  with  it,  and  meant  to  repeat  the  experiment 
with  new  precautions.  The  density  of  the  earth  being  known,  its  mass  is 
easily  calculated,  and  made  a  unit  of  mass  for  measuring  that  of  the  other 
bodies  in  the  system.  It  is  found  that  the  mass  of  the  earth  compared  with 
that  of  the  sun  is  -0000028173. 

The  earth,  as  a  member  of  the  aolar  system,  moves  along  with  the  other 
planets  round  the  sun  from  west  to  east.  This  is  contrary  to  our  sensible 
impressions,  according  to  which  the  sun  seems  to  move  round  the  earth; 
and  it  was  not  till  a  few  centuries  ago  that  men  were  able  to  get  over  this 
illusion.  This  journey  round  the  sun  is  performed  in  about  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  and  a  qiiarter  days,  which  we  call  a  year  (solar  year),  "ue 
earth's  path  or  orbit  is  not  strictly  a  circle,  but  an  ellipse  of  small  eccentri- 
city, in  one  of  the  foci  of  which  is  the  sun.  It  follows  that  the  eartn  is  not 
equally  distant  from  the  sun  at  all  times  of  the  year;  it  is  nearest,  or  in  peri- 
helion, at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  or  when  the  northern  hemisphere  haa 


FAMILIAR    SGIENOE.  397 

printer;  and  at  its  greatest  distance,  or  aphelion,  about  the  middle  of  the 
year,  or  during  the  summer  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  The  difference  of 
distance,  however,  is  comparatively  too  small  to  exercise  any  perceptible 
inlluence  on  the  heat  derived  from  the  sun,  and  the  variation  of  the  seasons 
has  a  quite  different  cause.  The  least  distance  of  the  sun  from  the  earth  is 
over  ninety-four  millions  of  miles,  and  the  greatest  over  ninety-six  millions; 
the  mean  distance  is  commonly  stated  at  ninety-five  millions.  If  the  mean 
distance  be  taken  as  unity,  then  the  greatest  and  least  are  respectively  re- 
presented by  1-01679,  and  0'98321.  It  follows  that  the  earth  yearly  describes 
a  path  of  upwards  of  five  hundred  and  ninety-six  millions  of  miles,  so  that 
its  velocity  in  its  orbit  is  about  ninety-nine  thousand  feet,  or  nineteen  miles 
in  a  second. 

Besides  its  annual  motion  round  the  sun  the  earth  has  a  daily  motion  or 
rotation  on  its  axis,  or  shorter  diameter,  which  is  performed  from  west  to 
east,  and  occupies  exactly  twenty-three  hours,  fifty-six  minutes,  four  sec- 
onds of  mean  time.  On  this  motion  depend  the  rising  and  setting  of  the 
sun,  or  the  vicissitudes  of  day  and  night.  The  relative  lengths  of  day  and 
night  depend  upon  the  angle  formed  by  the  earth's  axis  with  the  plane  of 
its  orbit.  If  the  axis  were  perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  the  orbit,  day  and 
night  would  be  equal  dui-ing  the  whole  year  over  all  the  earth,  and  there 
would  be  no  change  of  seasons;  but  the  axis  makes  with  the  orbit  an  angle 
of  23>2°,  and  the  consequence  of  this  is  all  that  variety  of  seasons  and  of 
climates  that  we  find  on  the  earth's  surface;  for  it  is  only  for  a  small  strip 
(theoretically,  for  a  mere  line)  lying  under  the  equator  that  the  days  and 
nights  are  equal  all  the  year;  at  all  other  places,  this  equality  only  occurs 
on  the  two  days  in  each  year  when  the  sun  seems  to  pass  through  the  ce- 
lestial equator,  i.  e.,  about  the  21st  of  March  and  23d  of  September.  From 
March  21,  the  sun  departs  from  the  equator  towards  the  north,  till,  about 
June  21,  he  has  reached  a  north  declination  of  23.'i°,  when  he  again  ap- 
proaches the  equator,  which  he  reaches  about  September  23.  He  then  ad- 
vances southward,  and  about  December  21  has  reached  a  south  declination 
of  23>z°,  when  he  turns  once  more  towards  the  equator,  at  which  he  arrives 
March  21.  The  21st  of  June  is  the  longest  day  in  the  northern  hemisphere, 
and  the  shortest  in  the  southern;  with  the  21st  of  December  it  is  the  re- 
verse. 

The  velocity  of  the  earth's  rotation  on  its  axis  evidently  increases  gradu- 
ally from  the  poles  to  the  equator,  where  it  is  about  equal  to  that  of  a  mus- 
ket-ball, being  at  the  rate  of  twenty- four  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty  miles  a  day,  or  about  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  a 
second. 

A  direct  proof  of  the  rotation  of  the  earth  is  furnished  by  its  compression 
at  the  poles.  There  are  indubitable  indications  that  the  earth  was  origi- 
nally fluid,  or  at  least  soft;  and  in  that  condition  it  miist  have  assumed  the 
spherical  shape.  The  only  cause,  then,  that  can  be  assigned  for  the  fact  that 
it  has  not  done  so,  is  its  rotation  on  its  axis.  Calculation  also  shows  that 
the  amount  of  compression  which  the  earth  actually  has,  corresponds 
exactly  to  what  its  known  velocity  and  mass  must  have  produced.  Experi- 
ments with  the  pendulum,  too,  show  a  decrease  of  the  force  of  gravity  from 
the  poles  toward  the  equator;  and  though  a  part  of  this  decrease  is  owing 
to  the  want  of  perfect  sphericity,  the  greatest  part  arises  from  the  centrifu- 
gal force  caused  by  the  motion  of  rotation.  Another  direct  proof  of  the 
same  hypothesis  may  be  drawn  from  the  observation,  that  bodies  dropped 
from  a  considerable  height  deviate  towards  the  east  from  the  vertical  Jine. 


398      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

This  fact  has  been  established  by  the  experiments  of  Benzenberg  and  others. 
In  former  times,  it  was  believed  that  if  the  earth  actually  revolved  in  the 
direction  of  the  east,  a  stone  dropped  from  the  top  of  a  tower  would  fall,  not 
exactly  at  the  foot  of  the  tower,  but  to  the  west  of  it.  Now,  as  experience, 
it  was  argued,  shows  that  this  is  not  the  case — that  the  stone,  in  fact,  does 
fall  at  the  bottom — we  have  here  a  proof  that  the  pretended  rotation  of  the 
earth  does  not  take  place.  Even  Tycho  Brahe  and  Eiccioli  held  this  objec- 
tion to  the  doctrine  to  be  unanswerable.  But  the  facts  of  the  case  were  just 
the  reverse.  Newton,  with  his  wonted  clearness  of  vision,  saw  that,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  earth's  motion  from  west  to  east,  bodies  descending  from  a 
height  must  decline  from  the  perpendicular,  not  westward,  but  eastward; 
since,  by  their  greater  distance  from  the  earth's  center,  they  acquire  at  the 
top  a  greater  eastward  velocity  than  the  surface  of  the  earth  has  at  the 
bottom,  and  retain  that  velocity  during  their  descent.  He  therefore  pro- 
posed that  more  exact  observations  should  be  made  to  ascertain  the  fact; 
but  it  was  not  till  more  than  a  century  afterwards  that  experiments  of  suf- 
ficient delicacy  were  made  to  bring  out  the  expected  result  satisfactorily. 
It  is  difficult  to  find  an  elevation  sufficiently  great  for  the  purpose,  as  several 
hundred  feet  give  merely  a  slight  deviation,  which  it  requires  great 
accuracy  to  observe.  If  a  height  of  ten  thousand  feet  could  be  made  avail- 
able, the  deviation  would  be  not  less  than  seven  and  one-half  feet.  The 
analogy  of  our  earth  to  the  ether  planets  may  also  be  adduced,  the  rotation 
of  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  smallest  and  the  most  distant,  is  dis- 
tinctly discernible.  Finally,  an  additional  proof  of  the  earth's  rotation  was 
lately  given  by  Leon  Foucault's  striking  experiment  with  the  pendulum. 
The  principle  of  the  experiment  is  this:  That  a  pendulum  once  set  in  motion, 
and  swinging  freely,  continues  to  swing  in  the  same  plane,  while  at  any 
place  at  a  distance  from  the  equator  the  plane  of  the  meridian  continues  to 
change  its  position  relative  to  this  fixed  plane.  The  objection  taken  to  the 
doctrine  of  rotation  from  the  fact  that  we  are  unconscious  of  any  motion,  has 
little  weight.  The  movement  of  a  vessel  in  smooth  water  is  not  felt,  though 
far  less  uniform  than  that  of  the  earth;  and  as  the  atmosphere  accompanies 
the  earth  in  its  motion,  there  is  110  feeling  of  cutting  through  it  to  break  the 
illusion  of  rest. 

If  the  turning  of  the  earth  on  its  axis  is  thus  proved  to  be  the  cause  of 
the  apparent  daily  motion  of  the  heavens,  it  is  an  easy  step  to  consider  the 
annual  motion  of  the  sun  through  the  constellations  of  the  zodiac  as  also  ap- 
parent, and  arising  from  a  revolution  of  the  earth  about  the  sun  in  the  same 
direction  of  west  to  east.  If  we  consider  that  the  mass  of  the  sun  is  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty-nine  thousand  times  greater  than  that  of  the  earth, 
and  that  by  the  laws  of  mechanics,  two  bodies  that  revolve  round  each  other, 
must  revolve  about  their  common  center  of  gravity,  the  idea  of  the  sun 
revolving  ab«ut  the  earth  is  seen  to  be  simply  impossible.  The  common 
center  of  gravity  of  the  two  bodies  being  distant  from  the  center  of  each  in- 
versely as  their  respective  masses,  is  calculated  to  be  only  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  miles  from  the  center  of  the  sun,  and  therefore  far  within  his 
body,  which  has  a  diameter  of  eight  hundred  and  eighty-two  thousand 
miles.  But  by  help  of  a  figure,  it  is  easy  to  show  that  the  apparent  motion 
of  the  sun  on  the  ecliptic  naturally  arises  from  a  motion  of  the  earth  about 
the  eun.  The  motions  of  the  planets  also,  that  appear  BO  complicated  and 
irregular  as  seen  by  us,  can  only  be  satisfactorily  explained  by  assum- 
ing that  they  too  revolve  round  the  sun  in  the  same  direction  as  the  earth, 
the  interior  of  tUe  earth  is  the  seat  of  intense  heat  ie  a  familiar 


FAMILIAR    SCIX2TCS.  399 

truth.  Volcanic  phenomena  give  us  ocular  demonstration  of  it.  Mining 
experiences,  moreover,  have  furnished  us  with  an  almost  uniform  rate  at 
which  the  heat  increases,  and  this  is  generally  computed  to  be  about  one 
degree  Fahrenheit  for  every  fifty-five  feet  of  descent.  But  mining  experi- 
ences are  necessarily  very  limited.  The  deepest  mine  in  England,  that  of 
the  Rosebridge  colliery,  near  Wigan,  takes  us  down  only  two  thousand  four 
hundred  and  forty -five  feet,  and  to  a  temperature  not  much  exceeding 
ninety  degrees  Fahrenheit.  It  is  hot  enough  to  make  the  work  exceedingly 
trying  to  the  miners,  but  that  is  all.  This,  however,  is  (so  to  speak)  scarcely 
traversing  the  earth's  epidermis.  But  if  we  may  assume  a  uniform  increase 
of  heat  in  descending,  the  temperature  at  a  depth  of  fifty  miles  may  be  ex- 
pressed in  figures  as  four  thousand  eic;ht  hundred  degrees  Fahrenheit.  In 
other  words,  at  less  than  an  eighth  of  the  distance  which  lies  between  the 
circumference  of  the  earth  and  its  center,  the  heat  would  be  about  twenty- 
two  times  the  heat  of  boiling  water  at  the  sea  level.  Proportionate  figures 
might,  of  course,  express  the  heat  at  greater  depths  still,  but  figures  fail  to 
convey  any  idea  to  the  mind  of  that  which  must  necessarily  transcend  all 
imagination,  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  in  a  descending  series  we  must  eventu- 
ally come  to  a  heat  so  great  that  no  substance  with  which  we  are  acquainted 
could,  under  any  conditions  which  we  can  imagine,  exist  in  it  in  either  solid 
or  fluid  form.  And  we  conclude,  therefore,  that  if  the  earth's  center  be  not 
itself  in  a  gaseous  condition  (and  there  is  reason  to  think  that  it  may  not  be 
BO)  there  must  be  a  gaseous  zone  somewhere  between  a  solid  center  and  a 
solid  circumference.  "Facilis  descensus  Averni"  is  proverbially  treated  as 
a  truitim.  But  if  the  classic  authors  are  to  be  our  guides,  and  if  in  the  cen- 
ter of  our  planet  Acherontiau  Shades  and  Elysian  Fields  are  to  be  localized^ 
there  will  be  found  practical  difficulties  of  access  which  might  well  discour- 
age even  so  substantial  a  personage  as  a  ghost.  Nor  can  the  all-powerful 
imagination  accomplish  the  descent  with  any  approach  to  ease.  The  dis- 
tance we  may  suppose  to  be  nearly  four  thousand  three  hundred  miles; 
but  along  a  lino  of  this  length  connecting  the  surface  of  the  earth  with  its 
center,  we  may  safely  assume  that  conditions  would  vary  greatly,  and  (since 
heat  and  pressure  have  to  be  balanced  one  against  the  other)  probably  by 
no  means  uniformly.  We  can  measure  the  power  of  pressure  upon  the  sur- 
face, but  in  the  nether  depths  its  power  is  in  part  open  to  conjecture,  nor 
can  we  say  how  soon  we  may  reach  a  debatable  zone,  at  which  the  expan- 
eiveness  of  heat  may  overcome  the  compressive  force  of  gravitation.  Nor, 
again,  could  we  venture  to  expect  to  find  that  zone  itself  always  at  a  uni- 
form depth.  Here  and  there  it  seems  to  approach  the  surface.  The  vol- 
cano is  nature's  safety-valve,  and  the  cavernous  rumbles  of  the  earthquake 
warn  us  that  there  are  imprisoned  gases  beneath  our  feet,  which  pressure 
but  imperfectly  prevents  from  escaping.  Upon  other  grounds,  also,  it  is 
quite  evident  that  our  experience,  limited  as  it  is  to  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
may  tend  to  mislead  us  in  regard  to  what  lies  beneath  the  surface;  for,  if 
pressure  increased  uniformly  with  depth,  the  average  density  of  the  earth 
would  be  much  greater  than  what,  upon  astronomical  data,  we  know  it  to 
be.  The  earth  as  a  whole,  is  about  five  and  a  half  times  as  heavy  as  it 
would  be  if  it  were  entirely  composed  of  water;  or,  technically  expressed, 
the  density  of  water  is  one,  and  the  mean  density  of  the  globe  is  five  and  a 
half.  But  five  and  a  half  is  only  about  double  the  density  of  rock  matter 
upon  the  surface;  whereas,  if  nothing  but  steadily  increasing  pressure  be 
•upposed,  it  would  vastly  exceed  this.  There  is,  therefore,  only  one  possi- 
ble explanation,  Heat,  intense  heat,  somewhere  or  ether,  overcomes  pres- 


400       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

sure  and  converts  everything  into  gas;  and  if  it  were  in  our  power  to  try 
experiments,  and  to  feed  the  subterranean  crucible  with  the  most  intracta- 
ble substance — asbestos,  fire-proof  safes,  or  what  we  will— all  would  there 
ehare  the  same  fate— instant  evanescence. 

Th.e  Sun. — The  following  interesting  information  regarding  the  sun  is 
from  the  stenographic  report  of  a  lecture  by  Professor  Garrett  P.  Serviss, 
secretary  of  the  American  Astronomical  Society:  "  No  one  present  probably 
knows  how  grand  a  planet  the  sun  is.  Its  size  cannot  be  conceived.  But 
let  us  weigh  it  and  get  some  idea  of  its  great  dimensions.  Put  the  sun  and 
earth  in  the  scales  and  add  the  planet  Jupiter  to  the  latter  and  the  sun 
would  weigh  more,  and  yet  Jupiter  weighs  three  times  as  much  as  all  the 
other  planets  put  together.  We  will  then  throw  all  the  other  planets  in  the 
•cale  with  the  earth  and  yet  the  sun  will  not  move.  Aladdin's  wonderful 
lamp  would  not  make  the  sun  budge.  Don't  let  us  give  it  up,  however,  but 
throw  in  one  hundred  thousand  globes  and  then  altogether  we  will  have 
three  hundred  thousand  globes,  but  still  the  sun  would  not  budge.  We'll 
add  thirty  thousand  more  worlds  and  the  sun  then  moves  until  it  just  bal- 
ances the  enormous  weight  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  worlds. 
By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  attractive  power  of  the  sun  must  be  very 
great  to  keep  such  au  enormous  mass  in  control.  The  earth  weighs  six 
eextillions  of  tons.  If  a  man  possessed  the  same  number  of  dollars  and  be- 
gan counting  them  out  at  the  rate  of  ten  dollars  a  minute,  the  time  which 
would  have  elapsed  since  the  time  of  Adam  and  Eve,  nearly  six  thousand 
years,  would  be  a  mere  incident  in  comparison  to  the  period  during  which 
the  calculation  would  have  to  continue.  The  weight  of  the  earth  is  so  great 
that  it  is  flying  through  the  air  only  controlled  by  the  laws  of  gravitation. 
The  velocity  of  this  globe  is  so  great  that  it  goes  through  space  at  the  rate 
of  eighteen  miles  a  second.  The  distance  of  the  sun  from  the  earth  is 
estimated  at  about  ninety-five  million  miles,  and  yet  it  is  held  secure  by 
the  resistless  arms  of  gravitation.  The  earth  canuot  get  away,  for  the  sun 
holds  it  in  its  power.  Look  at  Jupiter,  the  gigantic;  it  is  fifteen  times  larger 
than  the  earth,  and  yet  the  sun  holds  Jupiter.  The  planets  are  the  slaves 
of  the  sun,  which  by  the  wonderful  power  of  gravitation  holds  everything  in 
the  power  of  the  great  orbit.  The  sun  is  the  source  of  all  life,  and  the  heat 
from  it  is  so  great  that  we  are  able  to  live  only  on  account  of  it.  If  the  sun 
was  to  lose  its  heat  for  one  month  the  earth  would  die.  During  the  past  three 
years  the  surface  of  the  sun  has  been  covered  with  spots,  commonly  called 
"  sun  epots."  They  have  been  so  large  in  some  instances  that  they  have 
been  seen  without  the  aid  of  a  telescope.  Some  .of  these  spots  are  larger 
than  the  earth.  They  appear  on  the  surface  like  holes  into  which  streams 
of  molten  metal  seemed  to  continually  pour.  The  sun  is  simply  a  ball  o* 
gases,  and  the  matter  found  in  it  is  composed  of  iron,  gold  and  silver,  cop- 
per and  granite.  Indeed  these  substances  are  so  great  that  they  would 
make  three  hundred  thousand  globes  like  that  in  which  we  live  and  work. 
The  spots  are  like  vapors,  which  appear  and  disappear  at  times.  Last  year 
the  sun  was  full  of  these  spots.  It  has  been  noticed  that  they  appear  about 
once  in  every  eleven  years.  The  cavity  is  so  enormous  in  some  of  the  spots 
that  the  earth  could  be  dropped  into  it  and  disappear  like  a  billiard  ball. 
On  the  16th  of  April,  1882,  the  lecturer  watched  these  spots,  and  he  found 
the  surface  of  the  great  body  change  in  a  most  wonderful  manner.  They 
gave  a  terror  to  the  scene.  Juat  as  the  sun  disappeared  below  the  horizon 
it  was  noticed  that  a  pale  green  arch  of  light  appeared  aboye  the  horizon, 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE. 


401 


just  over  tho  point  where  tho  sun  had  gone  down.  This  was  followed  in 
time  by  bright  streams  of  light  shooting  up  to  the  zenith,  after  which  the 
aurora  borealia  was  visible  in  tho  sky.  There  was  no  sound,  and  the  flam- 
ing heavens  were  as  silent  as  death.  It  was  a  pantomime  played  by 
ghosts  of  fire.  The  lecturer  then  referred  to  the  corona  of  the  sun.  It  ap- 
peared to  be  a  shell  of  scarlet  fire,  and  was  only  to  be  seen  at  a  total 
eclipse;  but  it  had  lately  been  ssen  by  aid  of  powerful  telescopes  in  the  day- 
light. The  sun  is  a  globe  of  matter  heated  to  a  gaseous  condition.  The 
sheet  of  scarlet  fire  is  supposed  to  have  been  caused  by  long  ago  and  con- 
stant eruptions,  sending  up  showers  of  red  flames  and  heat  from  the  inside 
of  the  sun.  The  sun  will  doubtless  die  in  the  course  of  the  next  ten  million 
years.  We  will  wait  till  that  time  and  see  what  happens.  It  is  now  going 
through  a  process  of  cooling.  All  life  would  cease  throughout  the  solar 
system  and  the  earth  would 
be  lighted  only  by  the  stars. 
At  present  an  envelope  or 
crust  is  being  seen  on  the 
edge  of  the  great  orbit  of 
day.  This  will  in  time  cover 
the  entire  surface,  and  then 
the  radiant  splendors  of  the 
sun  will  be  invisible." 

Herscliel's  Theory  of 
Sun  Spots — Sun  spots 
consist  of  a  black  center  or 
nucleus  called  the  umbra, 
and  a  grayish  envelope  or  | 
border  called  the  penumbra. 
These  again  are  surrounded 
by  bright  streaks  or  patches 
of  light  called  f acute.  But 
they  vary  in  appearance. 
Sometimes  the  nucleus  is 
seen  without  a  penumbra, 
and  again  it  is  not  seen  at 
all.  They  constantly  change 
in  size,  position  and  num- 
ber. Some  come  and  go 
in  a  day,  while  others 
last  weeks  without  much  change.  The  generally  received  opinion  seems 
to  be  that  the  sun  is  an  opaque  body,  surrounded  by  three  cloud-like 
envelopes,  each  several  thousand  miles  in  thickness.  The  one  nearest  the 
sun  is  a  clondy  atmosphere,  reflecting  light,  but  giving  out  none.  The  sec- 
ond, called  the  photosphere,  is  luminous,  and  the  source  of  the  sun's  light. 
The  third  is  transparent,  and  surrounds  the  other.  Sun  spots  are  supposed 
to  be  openings  or  rifts  in  these  different  envelopes.  The  openings  are  sup- 
posed by  Sir  John  Herschel  to  be  caused  by  changes  of  temperature,  like 
those  which  produce  our  whirlwinds.  Another  interesting  fact  is  that  when 
there  are  most  sun  spots  the  beautiful  aurora  borealis  is  most  frequently  seen. 

The  Moon.— The  moon  is  the  satellite  of  the  earth,  around  which  it 
revolves  from  west  to  east  in  a  period  of  one  month,  and  in  consequence 


THKORY  OF  RTTN   SPOTS. 

a  a,  the  photosphere;  h  h.  thf>  clond  envelope; 
A,  spot  with  nncleufl  and  penumbra;  B,  spots 
without  pennmbra;  C,  penumbra  without 
nucleus. 


402       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL 

accompanying  the  earth  In  its  motion  round  the  sun.  As  the  moon,  it)  an 
observer  on  the  earth,  advances  more  than  13°  to  the  east  daily,  whilst  the 
corresponding  advance  of  the  sun  is  barely  1°,  her  progress  among  the  stars 
is  much  more  notable  than  that  of  the  latter.  This  rapid  angular  motion, 
the  continual  and  regular  variation  of  her  illuminated  surface,  and  her  large 
apparent  size  (being  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  sun),  have  rendered  the 
moon  an  object  of  general  interest;  while  her  importance  as  the  principal 
nocturnal  substitute  for  the  sun,  and  her  special  value  to  navigators  and 
geographers  in  the  determination  of  longitudes,  have  rendered  the  lunar 
theory  the  object  of  the  most  thorough  and  careful  investigation. 

The  first  peculiarity  about  the  moon  that  strikes  a  casual  observer,  is  the 
constant  and  regular  change  of  her  illuminated  surface  from  a  thin  crescent 
to  a  circle,  and  vice  versa,  and  a  corresponding  change  in  the  time  of  her 
appearance  above  the  horizon.  .  These  changes  depend  upon  the  position  of 
the  moon  relative  to  the  earth  and  the  sun,  for  it  is  only  the  half  of  the 
moon  facing  the  sun  that  is  illuminated  by  his  rays,  and  the  whole  of  this 
illuminated  portion  can  only  be  seen  from  the  earth  when  the  sun,  earth  and 
moon  are  in  a  straight  line  (the  line  ofsyzygies),  and  the  earth  is  between 
the  sun  and  moon.  When  the  moon  is  in  the  line  of  syzygies,  but  between 
the  earth  and  the  sun,  no  part  of  her  illuminated  disc  can  be  seen  from  the 
earth.  In  the  former  case,  the  moon  is  said  to  be  futt,  and  in  the  latter, 
new.  A  few  hours  after  "  new  moon,"  the  moon  appears  a  little  to  the  east 
of  the  sun  as  a  thin  crescent,  with  the  horns  pointing  towards  the  east,  and 
as  she  increases  h^r  angular  distance  from  the  sun  at  the  rate  of  about  12° 
daily,  the  crescent  of  light  becomes  broader,  till,  after  the  lapse  of  a  little 
more  than  seven  days,  at  which  time  she  is  90°  in  advance  of  the  sun,  she 
presents  the  appearance  of  a  semi-circle  of  light.  The  moon  is  then  said  to 
have  completed  her  first  quarter.  Continuing  her  course,  she  becomes 
"  gibbous; "  and  at  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  day  from  new  moon,  attains  a 
position  180°  in  advance  of  the  sun,  and  now  presents  the  appearance  known 
as  full  moon.  From  this  point  she  begins  to  approach  the  sun,  again  ap- 
pearing gibbous,  and  after  a  third  period  of  more  than  seven  days,  reaches 
a  point  90°  west  of  him,  and  enters  her  last  quarter.  Here,  again,  she 
appears  as  a  semi-circle  of  light,  the  illuminated  portion  being  that  which 
was  not  illuminated  at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter.  The  moon  now  rapidly 
approaching  the  sun,  resumes  the  crescent  form,  but  this  time  with  the 
horns  pointing  westward,  the  crescent  becoming  thinner  and  thinner,  till  the 
moon  reaches  the  position  of  new  moon,  and  disappears.  From  "  full 
moon  "  to  "  new  moon,"  the  moon  is  said  to  be  waning;  and  from  "  new 
moon " to  "full  moon,"  waxing.  The  earth  as  seen  from  the  moon  presents 
similar  phases,  and  has,  consequently,  at  the  time  of  new  moon,  the  appear- 
ance of  a  round  illuminated  disc,  and  aj  full  moon,  is  invisible.  This  ex- 
plains the  peculiar  phenomenon  occasionally  observed  when  the  moon  ia 
near  the  sun  (either  before  or  after  new  moon),  of  the  part  of  the  moon's 
face  which  is  unilluminated  by  the  sun  appearing  faintly  visible,  owing  to 
the  reflection  upon  it  of  strong  earth-light.  This  phenomenon  is  designated 
by  the  Scottish  peasantry  as  "  the  new  mune  wi'  the  auld  mune  in  her 
airms."  At  new  moon  the  moon  of  course  comes  above  the  horizon  about 
the  same  time  as  the  sun,  and  sets  with  him,  but  rises  each  day  about  fifty 
minutes  later  than  on  the  day  previous,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter, 
rises  at  midday,  and  sets  at  midnight,  continuing  to  lag  behind  the  sun. 
When  at  the  full,  she  rises  about  sunset,  and  sets  about  sunrise,  and  at  the 
commencement  of  her  last  quarter,  she  rises  at  midnight  and  sets  at  mid- 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE,  408 

day,  Prom  repeated  observations  of  the  taoon'g  horizontal  pai'aUafy  and  of 
the  occultation  by  her  of  the  fixed  stars,  her  mean  distance  from  the  earth 
has  been  estimated  at  237,600  miles,  and  as  her  angular  diameter  averages 
31'  26",  her  actual  diameter  is  2,153  miles,  or  a  little  leas  than  3-llthfl  of 
the  earth's  diameter.  Her  volume  ia  therefore  about  1- 19th  of  that  of  the 
earth,  and  her  density  being  only  '577  (that  of  the  earth  being  taken  as 
unity),  her  mass  is  only  l-88th  of  the  earth's  mass;  consequently,  the  force 
of  gravity  at  her  surface  is  so  much  less  than  it  is  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  that  a  body  which  weighs  one  thousand  pounds  here,  would  at  the 
moon  weigh  only  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  pounds. 

The  moon  revolves  round  the  earth  in  an  elliptic  orbitj  with  the  earth  in 
the  focus;  the  eccentricity  of  the  ellipse  being  equal  to  '05491  of  half  ita 
major  axis,  or  more  than  three  and  one-quarter  times  that  of  the  earth's 
orbit.  The  plane  of  her  orbit  does  not  coincide  with  the  ecliptic,  but  is  in- 
clined to  it  at  an  angle  of  5°  8'  47'9'',  and  intersects  it  in  two  opposite  points, 
which  are  called  the  Nodes.  The  point  at  which  the  moon  is  nearest  to  the 
earth  is  called  her  perigee^  and  that  at  which  she  is  farthest  from  it  her 
apogee,  and  the  line  joining  these  two  points  is  called  the  line  of  apsides. 
Were  the  moon's  orbit  a  true  ellipse,  which,  owing  to  various  irregularities 
known  as  perturbations,  it  is  not,  the  lunar  theory  would  be  exceedingly 
simple;  but  these  perturbations,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  planets,  produce 
a  sensible  variation  in  their  orbit  only  after  many  revolutions,  cause,  in  the 
case  of  the  moon,  a  distinct  and  well-marked  deviation  from  her  previous 
course  in  a  single  revolution.  The  retrogradation  of  her  nodes  along  the 
ecliptic  causes  a  continual  change  in  the  plane  of  her  orbit,  so  that  if,  during 
one  revolution  round  the  earth,  she  occults  certain  stars,  at  the  next  revolu- 
tion she  will  pass  to  one  side  of  them,  and  will  remove  farther  and  farther 
from  them  in  each  successive  revolution.  A  little  consideration  will  show 
that  by  this  continual  change  of  her  orbit,  the  moon  will,  in  course  of  time, 
pass  over  or  occult  every  star  situated  within  5°  24'  30"  of  the  ecliptic.  The 
motion  of  the  nodes  is  so  rapid  that  they  perform  a  complete  circuit  of  the 
orbit  in  6793-39  mean  solar  days,  or  18'6  years.  Another  important  change 
in  the  moon's  orbit  is  the  revolution  of  the  line  of  apsides,  by  which  the 
perigee  and  apogee  are  continually  changing  their  position  relative  to  the 
earth  and  sun.  This  revolution  is  more  than  twice  as  rapid  as  that  of  the 
nodes,  being  performed  in  3232'57  mean  solar  days,  or  8'85  solar  years. 

The  moon,  like  all  other  satellites,  as  far  as  at  present  known,  revolve* 
round  her  own  axis  in  precisely  the  same  time  that  she  revolves  round  thci 
earth:  she  thus  presents  always  the  same  face  to  us,  and  consequently., 
though  her  comparative  proximity  has  enabled  us  to  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  her  surface  than  with  that  of  any  other  heavenly  body,  our 
knowledge  is  confined  to  one-half  of  her  surface,  with  the  slight  exception 
of  the  knowledge  obtained  from  her  libration.  To  the  inhabitants  of  the 
side  of  the  moon  next  the  earth — if  the  moon  had  inhabitants,  which  is  very 
improbable — the  latter  would  appear  as  a  luminary  about  2°  in  diameter, 
immovably  fixed  in  their  sky,  or  at  least  changing  its  position  only  to  the 
extent  due  to  the  moon's  libration.  The  earth  would  thus  seem  to  them  to 
have  a  disc  about  fifteen  times  larger  than  that  of  the  sun. 

The  surface  of  the  moon,  as  seen  from  the  earth,  presents  a  most  irregu- 
lar grouping  of  light  and  shade.  The  dark  portions  were  named  by  tho 
earlier  astronomers  as  seas,  lakes,  etc.,  and  still  retain  these  names, 
although  there  is  strong  evidence  against  the  supposition  that  the  moon,  or 
at  least  that  portion  of  it  presented  to  us,  contains  any  water.  The  brighter 


404        CYCLOPEDIA     OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

parts  of  the  moon  are  mountainous,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  of  their  casting 
shadows  when  the  sun'a  rays  fall  upon  them  obliquely,  and  also  by  the 
ragged  appearance  presented  by  the  interior  illuminated  border  of  the  moon, 
an  appearance  which  can  only  bo  satisfactorily  accounted  for  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  surface  of  the  moon  is  not  level,  in  which  case  the  higher  por- 
tions will  be  illuminated  some  time  before  the  light  reaches  the  level  parts; 
and  it  is  observed  that  as  the  illumination  proceeds,  bright  spots  start  up  in 
advance  of  it,  and  when  the  moon  is  on  the  wane,  these  same  spots  continue 
to  shine  for  some  time  after  the  surrounding  surface  is  immersed  in  gkx  m. 
The  mountains  occur  either  singly,  when  they  are  generally  of  a  circular 
form,  and  are  called  craters,  or  in  groups,  which  are  mostly  annular,  and 
form  a  sort  of  wall  enclosing  a  deep  depression  or  plain,  iu  which  are  situ- 
ated one  or  more  conical  mountains.  The  craters  are  not  unfrequently  eight 
or  ten  miles  in  diameter,  and  some  of  the  walled  plains  measure  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  across.  The  principal  mountain  range  is  the  Appenines, 
which  crosses  the  surface  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  attains,  accord- 
ing to  some  authorities,  an  altitude  of  about  twenty  thousand  feet,  though 
Sir  John  Herschel  gives  about  two  miles  as  the  probable  limit  of  elevation 
above  the  moon's  surface.  The  heights  are  estimated  from  a  micrometric 
measurement  of  the  length  of  their  shadows,  a  method  not,  in  this  case, 
susceptible  of  much  accuracy.  The  moon  everywhere  presents  traces  of 
volcanic  agency,  but  no  active  volcanoes  have  yet  been  discovered,  nor  is 
there  any  sign  of  recent  volcanic  action.  Seen  through  the  telescope  she 
presents  a  bleak,  desolate  appearance,  without  indications  of  animal  or  veg- 
etable existence.  She  appears  to  be  devoid  of  an  atmosphere,  or  if  one 
exists,  it  must  be  of  exceeding  rarity. 

The  influence  of  the  moon  in  causing  tides  has  long  been  well  known, 
and  there  is  some  reason  for  supposing  that  she  produces  a  similar  effect  on 
the  atmosphere,  combining  with  other  causes  in  the  generation  of  winds. 
Those  winds  which  prevail  about  the  time  of  new  and  full  moon,  and  at  the 
vernal  and  autumnal  equinoxes,  are  particularly  ascribed  to  her  influence. 
On  the  supposition  that  the  moon  might  also  affect  organic  nature,  experi- 
ments were  instituted  by  Mead,  Hoffman  and  others ;  but  no  certain  results 
were  attained.  The  periodicity  which  has  often  been  noticed  in  certain  dis- 
eases, especially  in  insanity  (hence  called  lunacy),  was  long  supposed  to 
have  some  connection  with  lunar  influence,  and  this  opinion  is  held  to  some 
extent  at  the  present  day.  The  chemical  effects  of  the  moon's  rays  are,  so 
far  as  is  at  present  known,  feeble,  though  in  particular  instances  they  ex- 
hibit an  actinism  as  powerful  as  that  of  the  sun.  Decomposition  of  animal 
matter  takes  place  more  rapidly  in  moonshine  than  in  darkness,  and  the 
moon's  rays,  when  concentrated,  have  a  sensible  effect  on  the  thermometer. 

The  Planets.— The  planets  are  those  heavenly  bodies  (including  the 
fiarth)  which  belong  to  our  solar  system,  and  revolve  in  elliptic  orbits  round 
the  sun.  They  are  often  denominated  primary  phi  nets,  to  distinguish  them 
from  their  moons  or  satellites,  which  are-  called  secondary  planets.  The 
name  planet  is  of  considerable  antiquity,  and  was  applied  to  these  depend- 
ants of  the  sun  to  distinguish  them  from  the  myriads  of  luminous  bodies 
which  stud  the  sky,  and  which  present  to  the  naked  eye  no  indication  of 
change  of  place.  The  planets  at  present  known  are,  in  tho  order  of  their 
distance  from  the  sun,  Mercury,  Venus,  the  Earth,  Mars,  the  Planetoids, 
Jupiter,  Saturn,  Uranus  and  Neptune.  Six  of  these,  Mercury,  Venus,  the 
Earth  (which  wasAnot,  however,  then  reckoned  a  planet),  Mars,  Jupiter, 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  405 

and  Saturn,  were  known  to  the  ancients;  Uranns  was  discovered  by  Sir 
William  Herschel  in  1781;  and  Neptune,  after  having  its  position  and  ele- 
ments determined  theoretically  by  Leverrier  and  Adams,  was  discovered  by 
M.  Chain's,  and  afterwards  by  Dr.  Galle,  in  1846.  The  Planetoids,  of  which 
more  than  two  hundred  and  twenty  are  now  known,  have  all  been  discovered 
during  the  present  century.  Six  of  the  planets,  the  Earth,  Mars,  Jupiter, 
Saturn,  Uranus,  and  Neptune,  are  attended  by  one  or  more  satellites;  Ura- 
nus (generally),  Neptune,  almost  the  whole  of  the  Planetoids,  and  all  the 
satellites  except  the  Moon,  are  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  The  visible 
planets  can  be  at  once  distinguished  from  the  fixed  stars  by  their  clear 
steady  light,  while  the  latter  have  a  sparkling  or  twinkling  appearance. 
The  comparative  proximity  of  the  planets  may  be  proved  by  examining  them 
through  a  telescope  of  moderate  power,  when  they  appear  as  round  lumi- 
nous disks,  while  the  fixed  stars  exhibit  no  increase  of  magnitude.  The 
planets,  as  observed  from  the  Earth,  move  sometimes  from  west  to  east, 
sometimes  from  east  to  west,  and  for  some  time  remain  stationary  at  the 
point  where  progression  ends  and  retrogression  commences.  This  irregu- 
larity in  their  movements  was  very  puzzling  to  the  ancient  astronomers, 
who  invented  various  hypotheses  to  account  for  it.  The  system  of  Coper- 
nicus, by  assuming  the  sun,  and  not  the  Earth,  as  the  center  of  the  system, 
explained  with  admirable  simplicity  what  seemed  before  a  maze  of  confusion. 

The  planetary  orbits  differ  considerably  in  their  degrees  of  eccentricity, 
the  Planetoids,  Mars,  and  Mercury  being  most,  and  the  larger  planets  least 
eccentric.  No  two  planets  move  exactly  in  the  same  plane,  though,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  planes  of  the  larger  planets  most  nearly  coincide  with 
that  of  the  ecliptic.  The  latter  are  consequently  always  to  be  found  within 
a  small  strip  of  the  heavens  extending  on  both  sides  of  the  ecliptic,  while  the 
others  have  a  far  wider  range.  According  to  Kepler's  Laws,  the  nearer  the 
planet  is  to  the  sun  the  shorter  is  the  time  of  its  revolution.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  planets  in  the  solar  system  bears  no  known  relation  to  their 
relative  size  or  weight,  for  though  Mercury,  Venus,  and  the  Earth  follow 
the  same  order  in  size  and  distance  from  the  sun,  yet  Mars,  which  is  farther 
from  the  sun,  is  much  less  than  either  the  Earth  or  Venus,  and  the  Plan- 
etoids, which  are  still  farther  off,  are  the  least  of  all.  Jupiter,  which  is 
next  in  order,  is  by  far  the  largest,  being  about  one  and  one-half  times  as 
large  as  all  the  others  together;  and  as  we  proceed  farther  outwards,  the 
planets  become  smaller  and  smaller,  Saturn  being  less  than  Jupiter,  Uranus 
than  Saturn,  and  Neptune  than  Uranus. 

With  reference  to  their  distance  from  the  sun,  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  Earth,  the  planets  are  divided  into  superior  and  inferior;  Mercury  and 
Venus  are  consequently  the  only  "  inferior  "  planets,  all  the  others  being 
"  superior."  The  inferior  planets  must  always  be  on  the  same  side  of  the 
Earth  as  the  sun  is,  and  can  never  be  above  the  horizon  of  any  place  (not  in 
a  very  high  latitude)  at  midnight;  they  are  always  invisible  at  their  superior 
and  inferior  conjunctions,  except  when,  at  the  latter,  a  transit  takes  place. 
The  superior  planets  are  likewise  invisible  at  conjunction,  but  when  in  op- 
position they  are  seen  with  the  greatest  distinctness,  being  then  due  south 
at  midnight.  The  time  which  elapses  from  one  conjunction  to  its  corre- 
sponding conjunction  is  called  the  synodic  period  of  a  planet,  and  in  the  case 
of  the  inferior  planets  must  always  be  greater  than  the  true  period  of  revo- 
lution. 

Mercury,  the  planet  which  is  nearest  the  sun,  is  also,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Planetoids,  the  smallest  (being  only  three  times  the  size  of  the  moon), 


«k06        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE* 

and  performs  its  revolution  round  the  sun  in  the  shortest  time.  Its  greatest 
elongation  is  never  more  than  28°  45',  and  consequently  it  is  never  above 
the  horizon  more  than  two  hours  after  sunset,  or  the  same  time  before  sun- 
rise; on  this  account,  and  from  its  small  apparent  size  (5"  to  12"),  it  is  sel- 
dom distinctly  observable  by  the  naked  eye.  It  shines  with  a  peculiarly 
vivid  white  or  rose-colored  light,  and  exhibits  no  spots. 

Venus,  the  next  in  order  of  distance  and  period,  is  to  us  the  most  brilliant 
of  all  the  planets.  Its  orbit  is  more  nearly  a  circle  than  any  of  the  others, 
and  when  at  its  inferior  conjunction,  it  approaches  nearer  the  Earth  than 
any  other  planet.  Its  apparent  angular  dimensions  thence  vary  from  10"  at 
the  superior,  to  70"  at  the  inferior  conjunction.  Its  greatest  elongation  varies 
from  45°  to  47°  12',  and  therefore  it  can  never  be  above  the  horizon  for 
much  more  than  three  hours  after  sunset,  or  the  same  time  before  sunrise. 
While  moving  from  the  infeiior  to  the  superior  conjunction,  Venus  is  a 
morning  star;  and  during  the  other  half  of  its  synodic  period,  an  evening 
star.  When  this  planet  is  at  an  elongation  of  40°,  its  brilliancy  is  greatest, 
far  surpassing  that  of  the  other  planets,  and  rendering  a  minute  examina- 
tion through  the  telescope  impossible.  At  this  period  it  sometimes  becomes 
visible  in  the  daytime,  and  after  sunset  is  so  bright  as  to  throw  a  distinct 
shadow.  Astronomers  have  repeatedly  attempted  to  ascertain  the  nature 
and  characteristics  of  its  surface,  but  its  brightness  so  dazzles  the  eyes  as  t« 
render  the  correctness  of  their  observations  at  best  doubtful.  From  the 
changes  in  the  position  of  dusky  patches  on  its  surface,  which  have  been 
frequently  noticed,  it  is  concluded  that  it  revolves  on  its  axis,  and  that  its 
equator  is  inclined  to  the  plane  of  its  orbit  at  an  angle  of  75°;  but  many  as- 
tronomers (Sir  John  Herachel  included)  profess  to  doubt  these  conclusions. 
Both  Venus  and  Mercury  necessarily  exhibit  phases  like  the  moon. 

The  Earth,  the  next  planet  in  order,  is  described  elsewhere;  it  has  a 
single  satellite,  the  Moon. 

Mar*,  the  first  of  the  superior  planets,  is  much  inferior  in  size  to  the 
two  previous,  its  volume  being  about  one-half  of  the  Earth's,  and,  after 
Mercury,  its  orbit  is  much  more  eccentric  than  those  of  the  other  planets. 
When  it  is  nearest  to  the  Earth  (i.  e.,  in  opposition),  its  apparent  angular 
diameter  is  30";  but  when  farthest  from  it  (i.  e.,  in  conjunction),  its  diam- 
eter is  not  more  than  4".  It  shines  with  a  fiery  red  light,  and  is  a  brilliant 
object  in  the  heavena  at  midnight  when  near  opposition;  when  seen  through 
the  telescope  its  surface  appears  to  be  covered  with  irregular  blotches,  some 
of  them  of  a  reddish,  others  of  a  greenish  color,  while  at  each  pole  is  a  spot 
of  dazzling  white.  The  red  spots  are  surmised  to  be  land;  the  green,  water, 
while  the  white  spots  at  the  poles  are  with  some  reason  supposed  to  be 
snow,  since  they  decrease  when  most  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  increase 
under  the  contrary  circumstances.  Two  email  satellites  of  this  planet  were 
discovered  in  August,  1877. 

The  Planetoids. — After  Mars  in  order  come  the  Planetoids,  formerly,  but 
improperly,  called  Asteroids.  They  are  a  numerous  group  of  very  email 
planets  situated  in  the  solar  system  between  Mars  and  Jupiter.  The  num- 
ber now  known  is  two  hundred  and  twenty;  They  are  believed  to  be  frag- 
ments of  one  older  planet;  their  distances  from  the  sun  are  from  200,000,000 
to  300,000,000  miles,  and  the  largest  is  not  over  three  hundred  miles  in 
diameter. 

Jupiter,  the  next  in  order,  Is  the  largest  of  all  the  planets,  its  bulk  being 
more  than  one  thousand  four  hundred  times  that  of  the  Earth,  though,  from 
its  small  density,  its  mass  is  only  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  times 


Jf  AMI  LI  AH    SCIENCE,  40? 

more.  After  Venus  it  is  the  brightest  of  all  the  planets  and  tlie  largest  ill 
apparent  size,  its  angular  diameter  varying  from  30"  to  45'\  When  looked 
at  through  a  telescope,  it  is  seen  to  be  considerably  flattened  at  the  poles, 
owing  to  its  rapid  revolution  on  its  own  axis;  and  its  surface  is  crossed  in  a 
direction  parallel  to  its  equator  by  three  or  four  distinct  and  strongly-marked 
belts,  and  a  few  others  of  a  varying  nature.  Spots  also  appear  and  remain 
for  some  time  on  its  surface,  by  means  of  which  its  revolution  on  its  axis  has 
been  ascertained.  This  planet  is  attended  by  four  satellites,  which  are 
easily  observable  through  an  ordinary  telescope,  and  which  have  rendered 
an  immense  service  in  the  determination  of  longitudes  at  sea,  and  of  the 
motion  and  velocity  of  light.  The  satellites,  which  were  discovered  by  Gali- 
leo, were  proved  by  Sir  William  Herschel  to  revolve  on  their  own  axes  m 
the  same  time  that  they  revolve  round  their  primary.  The  smallest  is 
about  the  same  size  as  our  moon,  the  others  are  considerably  larger. 

Saturn,  next  in  position,  is  about  seven  hundred  and  thirty-five  times 
larger  in  volume,  though  only  about  one  hundred  times  greater  in  mass 
than  the  Earth.  Its  apparent  diameter  when  in  opposition  is  18",  and  there 
is  a  considerable  flattening  towards  the  poles.  Its  surface  is  traversed  by 
dusky  belts  much  less  distinctly  marked  than  those  of  Jupiter,  owing  doubt- 
less in  great  part  to  its  inferior  brightness;  its  general  color  is  a  dull  white 
or  yellowish,  but  the  shaded  portions,  when  seen  distinctly,  are  of"  a  glau- 
cous color.  The  most  remarkable  peculiarity  of  Saturn  is  its  ring,  or  series 
of  concentric  rings,  each  one  parallel  and  in  the  same  plane  with  the  others 
and  with  the  planet's  equator;  the  rings  are  at  present  supposed  to  be  three 
in  number,  the  two  outermost  are  bright  like  the  planet  itself,  while  the 
innermost  is  of  a  purplish  color,  and  is  only  discernible  through  a  powerful 
telescope.  The  rings  are  not  always  visible  when  Saturn  is  in  the  "  oppo- 
site "  half  of  its  orbit,  for  when  the  plane  of  the  rings  is  intermediate  be- 
tween that  of  the  Earth's  orbit  and  of  the  ecliptic,  their  dark  surface  is  turned 
towards  us,  and  when  the  sun  is  in  their  plane  only  the  narrow  edge  is  illu- 
mined; in  both  of  these  cases  the  ring  is  invisible  from  the  Earth.  Its  plane 
being  inclined  at  an  angle  of  28°  to  the  ecliptic,  we  see  the  two  surfaces  of 
the  ring  alternately  for  periods  of  fifteen  years  at  a  time;  and  at  the  middle 
of  each  period,  the  rings  attain  their  maximum  obliquity  to  the  ecliptic,  and 
are  then  best  seen  from  the  Earth.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  at 
the  end  of  each  period  they  become  invisible.  Saturn  has  also  no  less  than 
eight  satellites,  seven  of  which  revolve  round  it  in  orbits  little  removed  from 
the  plane  of  the  ring,  while  the  eighth,  which  is  the  second  in  size,  is  con- 
•iderably  inclined  to  it.  The  satellites  are  all  situated  outside  of  the  ring, 
and  the  largest  of  them  is  nearly  equal  to  the  planet  Mars  in  size. 

Uranus,  the  next  planet  in  position,  was  discovered  accidentally  by  the 
elder  Herschel,  on  March  13,  1781,  and  was  named  "  the  Georgium  Sidua  " 
and  "  Herschel,"  but  these  names  soon  fell  into  disuse.  It  is  about  ninety- 
six  (some  astronomers  say  eighty-two)  times  greater  than  the  Earth  in  volume 
and  twenty  (according  to  others,  fifteen)  times  in  mass;  but  though  so  large, 
its  distance  is  so  much  greater  in  proportion  that  astronomers  have  been  un- 
able to  gain  much  information  concerning  it.  No  spots  or  belts  have  hitherto 
been  discovered  on  its  surface,  and  consequently  its  time  of  rotation  and  the 
position  of  its  axis  are  unknown.  It  is  attended  by  a  number  of  satellites, 
but  so  minute  do  these  bodies  appear,  that  astronomers  hitherto  have  been 
unable  to  agree  as  to  their  exact  number;  Sir  William  Herschel  reckoned 
six,  while  other  astronomers  believe  in  the  existence  of  four,  five,  and  eight 
reepeatively.  That  there  are  at  least  four  ia  without  doubt. 


408      CYCLOPEDIA    Of   VSEFUL   KNOWLEDGE. 

Neptune  is  the  next  and  outermost  member  of  the  solar  system,  and,  at  a 
distance  of  nearly  3,000,000,000  miles  from  the  center  of  the  system,  slowly 
performs  its  revolution  round  the  sun,  accomplishing  the  complete  circuit 
in  about  165  solar  years.  It  is  about  84  times  larger  than  the  Earth,  but 
from  its  extreme  remoteness  is  of  almost  inappreciable  magnitude  when 
seen  through  an  ordinary  telescope.  It  was  the  disturbance  in  the  motion 
of  Uranus  caused  by  the  attractive  force  of  this  planet  which  led  Leverrier 
and  Adams  to  a  calculation  of  its  size  and  position,  on  the  supposition  of  its 
existence;  and  the  directions  which  were  given  by  the  former  to  Dr.  Galle, 
of  Berlin,  specifying  its  exact  position  in  the  heavens,  led  that  astronomer 
to  its  discovery  on  September  23,  1846.  Mr.  Lassell,  of  Liverpool,  has  dis- 
covered that  Neptune  is  attended  by  one  satellite.  The  satellites  of  Uranus 
and  Neptune  differ  from  the  other  planets,  primary  and  secondary,  in  the 
direction  of  their  motion,  which  is  from  east  to  west,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
former,  in  planes  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  ecliptic.  Both  Uranus  and 
Neptune  were  observed  long  before  the  times  of  Herschel  and  Leverrier,  but 
they  were  always  supposed  to  be  stars.  Uranus  is  known  to  have  been  ob- 
served by  Plamsteed  between  1690  and  1715,  and  Neptune  by  Lalande 
in  1795. 

The,  Stars. — Stars  are  distinguished  from  planets  by  remaining  appar- 
ently immovable  with  respect  to  one  another,  and  hence  they  were  early 
called  fixed  stars,  a  name  which  they  still  retain,  although  their  perfect  fix- 
ity has  been  completely  disproved  in  numerous  cases,  and  is  no  longer  be- 
lieved in  regard  to  aiiy.  Twinkling,  or  scintillation,  is  another  mark  which 
distinguishes  stars  from  planets. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  the  observer  is  the  apparent  daily  motions  of 
the  stars.  The  greater  part  appear  to  rise  in  the  east,  describe  smaller  or 
greater  arcs  in  the  heavens,  and  set  in  the  west;  while  others  describe  com- 
plete circles  round  a  point  north  of  the  zenith,  that  described  by  the  so- 
called  polar  star  being  the  smallest  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  These  ap- 
parent motions  arise  from  the  rotation  of  the  earth  on  its  axis.  Had  the 
earth  only  this  rotary  motion,  the  aspect  of  the  starry  heavens  at  any  spot 
on  the  earth's  surface  would  be  the  same  at  the  same  hour  of  the  night  all 
the  year  round;  which  is  known  not  to  be  the  case.  In  consequence  of  the 
earth's  motion  round  the  sun,  or  the  apparent  advance  of  the  sun  among 
the  stars,  the  aspect  of  the  heavens  at  a  particular  hour  is  always  changing. 
The  same  position  of  the  stars  recurs  four  minutes  earlier  each  night,  and 
only  at  the  same  time  after  the  lapse  of  a  year. 

With  few  exceptions,  the  distance  of  the  fixed  stars  is  still  unknown,  and 
must  in  all  be  enormously  great.  Since  the  time  of  Bradley,  many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  measure  what  is  called  the  yearly  parallax  of  the  stars, 
and  thus  determine  their  distances.  When  we  consider  that  the  motion  of 
the  earth  round  the  sun  brings  us  at  one  time  a  whole  diameter  of  its  orbit 
(184  millions  of  miles)  nearer  to  a  particular  region  of  the  heavens  than  we 
were  six  months  before,  we  should  expect  a  change  in  the  relative  distances 
of  the  stars  as  seen  from  the  two  points — that  as  we  approach  them  they 
should  seem  to  separate.  But  no  such  change  is  seen  to  take  place;  and 
this  was  one  of  the  early  objections  to  the  theory  of  Copernicus.  The  only 
answer  that  the  CopernicanB  could  give  was,  that  the  distance  of  the  stars 
from  us  is  so  great  that  the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit  is  as  a  point  com- 
pared with  it.  The  detection  of  the  parallax  of  the  fixed  stars  depended 
upon  the  perfection  of  instruments.  The  parallax  of  a  star  is  the  minute 


FAMILIA&  SCIENCE.  m 

angle  contained  by  two  linea  drawn  from  it,  the  one  to  the  sun,  the  other  to 
the  earth.  If  that  angle  amounted  to  a  second,  the  distance  of  the  star 
would  be  206,000  times  that  of  the  sun;  and  when  the  measurement  of 
angles  came  to  be  reliable  to  a  second,  and  still  no  parallax  was  discernible, 
astronomers  could  aay  that  the  distance  of  the  nearest  stars  must  be  more 
than  206,000  times  that  of  the  sun — i.  e.,  206,000  times  ninety-two  millions  of 
miles,  or  about  twenty  billions  of  miles.  It  is  only  since  between  1832  and 
1838  that  anything  like  positive  determinations  of  parallax  have  been  made, 
chiefly  by  Henderson,  Bessel,  and  Peters.  The  first  published  (Dec.,  1833) 
was  that  of  the  double  star  sixty-one  in  the  constellation  of  the  Swan,  by 
Bessel,  who  made  the  parallax  0"-37,  giving  a  distance  over  550,000  times 
that  of  the  sun,  or  fifty-two  billions  of  miles,  so  that  the  light  of  this  star  is 
about  eight  and  two-thirds  years  in  reaching  the  earth.  The  nearest  of  all 
the  stars  yet  measured  is  a  Centauri,  the  finest  double  star  in  the  southern 
heavens,  whose  parallax  was  determined  by  Henderson  and  Maclear  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  be  0"'9128  (the  observations  were  made  in  1832-1833; 
the  result  read  before  the  Astronomical  Society,  Jan.,  1839),  or  as  subse- 
quently corrected,  0"'976,  corresponding  to  a  distance  of  about  twenty  billions 
of  miles,  and  requiring  three  and  one-third  years  for  its  light  to  reach  ua.  To 
Sirius,  the  brightest  of  the  stars,  a  parallax  of  0"'15,  has  been  assigned,  im- 
plying a  distance  six  times  that  of  a  Centauri.  It  has  been  considered 
probable,  from  recondite  investigations,  that  the  average  distance  of  a  star 
of  the  first  magnitude  from  the  earth  is  986,000  radii  of  our  annual  orbit,  a 
distance  which  light  would  require  fifteen  and  one-half  years  to  traverse; 
and  further,  that  the  average  distance  of  a  star  of  the  sixth  magnitude  (the 
smallest  distinctly  seen  without  a  telescope)  is  7,600,000  times  the  same 
unit — to  traverse  which,  light,  with  its  prodigious  velocity,  would  occupy 
more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  years.  If,  then,  the  distances  of  the 
majority  of  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye  are  so  enormously  great,  how  are 
we  to  estimate  our  distance  from  those  minute  points  of  light  discernible 
only  in  powerful  telescopes  ?  The  conclusion  is  forced  upon  us  that  we  do 
not  see  them  as  they  appeared  within  a  few  years,  or  even  during  the  life- 
time of  man,  but  with  rays  which  proceeded  from  them  several  thousanda 
of  years  ago! 

The  stars  have  been  divided  into  groups  called  Constellations  from  the 
earliest  times.  The  several  stars  belonging  to  the  same  constellation  are 
distinguished  from  one  another  by  Greek  letters,  beginning  the  alphabet 
with  the  brightest;  and  when  these  are  not  sufficient,  by  Roman  letters  and 
by  numbers.  Many  of  the  most  brilliant  stars  have  special  names.  They 
are  also  divided  according  to  their  brightness  into  stars  of  the  first,  sec- 
ond, third,  etc.,  magnitudes — a  division  which  is  necessarily  somewhat  ar- 
bitrary. The  smallest  stars  discernible  by  a  naked  eye  of  ordinary  power 
are  usually  called  stars  of  the  fifth  magnitude;  but  an  usually  sharp  eye 
can  discern  those  of  the  sixth  and  even  seventh  magnitude.  All  below  are 
telescopic  stars,  which  are  divided  in  a  very  undetermined  way  down  to  the 
twentieth  magnitude.  Sir  J.  Herschel  has  determined  that  the  light  of  Sirius, 
the  brightest  of  all  the  stars,  is  324  times  that  of  a  mean  star  of  the  sixth 
magnitude.  By  processes  of  photometric  observation  and  reasoning,  it  is 
concluded  that  the  intrinsic  splendor  a  Centauri  is  more  than  twice  that  of 
our  sun,  and  that  of  Sirius  394  times.  Among  stars  of  the  first  magnitude 
in  the  northern  hemisphere  are  usually  reckoned  Aldebaran  (in  Taurus), 
Arcturus  (in  Bootes),  Atair  (in  Aquila),  Betelgeux  (in  Orion),  Capella  (in 
Auriga),  Procyon  (in  Canis  Minor),  Eegulus  (in  Leo,)  Yega  (in  Lyra),  In 


410      CYCLOPAEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  southern  hemisphere  are  Achemes  (hi  Eridanus),  Antarea  (in  Scor- 
pio), Canopus  (in  Argo),  Rigel  (in  Orion),  Sirius  (in  Canis  Major),  Spica  (in 
Virgo),  and  a  Centauri  and  a  Orucis  that  have  no  special  names. 

No  apparent  magnitude,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  has  yet  been 
observed  in  any  star.  In  the  best  and  most  powerful  magnifying  telescopes, 
even  the  brightest  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  appear,  not  with  small  discs 
as  all  the  planets  do,  but  as  luminous  points  without  any  visible  diameter, 
and  always  the  smaller  the  better  the  telescope.  We  are  therefore  totally 
ignorant  of  the  real  size  of  the  fixed  stars;  nor  could  it  be  determined 
though  we  were  sure  of  their  distances,  for  the  apparent  diameter  is  an  es- 
sential element  in  the  calculation.  We  cannot,  then,  say  whether  the 
greater  brilliancy  of  one  star,  when  compared  with  another,  arises  from  its 
greater  nearness,  its  greater  size,  or  the  greater  intensity  of  its  light.  It  is 
certain  that  all  the  fixed  stars  are  self-luminous.  By  the  spectroscope  sev- 
eral facts  regarding  their  physical  constitution  have  been  made  out;  there 
are  great  differences  in  their  spectra;  the  existence  of  several  known  ele- 
ments is  considered  demonstrated.  Sirius  contains  hydrogen,  sodium,  and 
magnesium. 

The  number  of  the  stars  is  beyond  determination.  Those  visible  by  the 
naked  eye  amount  only  to  a  few  thousands.  Stars  of  the  first  magnitude 
are  usually  reckoned  at  15  to  20,  of  the  second  at  50  to  60,  of  the  third  about 
200,  of  the  fourth  at  400  to  500,  of  the  fifth  at  1100  to  1200.  But  in  the  follow- 
ing classes  the  numbers  increase  rapidly,  so  that  stars  of  the  sixth  and 
seventh  class  amount  to  above  12,000.  Stars  are  most  dense  in  that  region 
of  the  heavens  called  the  Milky  Way,  which  is  mostly  composed  of  stars  of 
the  eleventh  and  twelfth  magnitude.  W.  Herschel  observed  116,000  stars 
pass  the  field  of  his  telescope  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  while  directed  to  the 
densest  part  of  the  Milky  Way. 

That  the  fixed  stars  are  not  really  immovable,  as  their  name  would  im- 
ply, is  seen  in  the  phenomenon  of  Double  or  Multiple  Stars,  which  are  sys- 
tems of  two  cr  more  stars  that  revolve  about  one  another,  or  rather  about 
their  common  center  of  gravity.  As  they  can  be  seen  separate  only  by 
means  of  a  telescope,  and  in  most  cases  require  a  very  powerful  one,  their 
discovery  was  possible  only  after  the  telescope  was  invented.  Galileo  him- 
self discovered  their  existence,  and  proposed  to  make  use  of  them  in  deter- 
mining the  yearly  parallax  of  the  fixed  stars.  After  a  long  lapse  of  time, 
Bradley,  Maskelyne,  and  Mayer  again  directed  attention  to  the  phenomena 
of  double  stars;  but  nothing  important  was  made  out  respecting  them  till 
the  elder  Herschel  made  them  the  subject  of  a  protracted  series  of  observa- 
tions which  led  to  the  most  remarkable  conclusions  as  to  their  nature.  The 
united  observations  of  Struve,  Savary,  Encke,  South,  and  especially  those  of 
Herschel  the  younger,  continued  for  four  years  in  the  southern  hemisphere 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  have  raised  the  number  of  observed  double,  or 
rather  multiple,  stars  to  more  than  6,000,  of  which  the  greater  part  are 
binary,  or  composed  of  two,  but  many  are  triple,  some  quadruple,  and  a 
few  even  quintuple,  or  consisting  of  five  stars.  The  distance  between  the 
stars  composing  these  systems  is  always  apparently  small  (varying  from 
less  than  1"  up  to  32");  but  apparent  nearness  does  not  always  constitute  a 
double  star,  for  two  really  distant  stars  are  not  unfrequently  so  nearly  in 
the  same  line,  as  seen  from  the  earth,  that  they  appear  to  be  close  together. 
In  real  multiple  stars,  the  individuals  are  not  only  comparatively  near  to  one 
another,  but  they  revolve  around  one  another.  Among  stars  of  the  first 
three  magnitudes,  every  sixth  is  a  multiple  star;  among  the  smaller  star* 


FAMILIAR    SUlEyCE.  411 

the  proportion  is  much  loss.  In  somo  cases,  one  of  the  stars  is  much  larger 
than  the  other,  as  in  the  star  Rigel  in  Orion,  and  in  the  polar  star;  but 
oftener  the  connected  stars  are  nearly  equal  in  luminous  power.  The  two 
members  of  double  stars  are  mostly  of  one  color,  but  a  difference  of  color  is 
observed  in  about  one-fifth  of  the  whole  number.  In  many  of  these  cases, 
the  one  color  ia  the  complement  of  the  other,  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
color  of  the  smaller  star  may  be  subjective,  arising  from  the  action  of  the 
other  upon  the  eye. 

Several  stars  exhibit  well-marked  periodic  alterations  of  a  striking  nature, 
and  are  hence  called  variable  stars.  A  considerable  number  have  been  ob- 
served, of  Which  the  most  remarkable  are  Mira  (the  "  wonderful ")  in  Cetus, 
and  Algol  in  Perseus.  The  first  attains  its  greatest  lustre  every  334  days, 
and  appears  for  fourteen  days  as  a  star  of  the  second,  and  even  at  times  of 
the  first  magnitude;  it  then  decreases  for  two  or  three  months,  till  it  be- 
comes of  the  sixth  and  even  tenth  magnitude,  so  as  to  be  for  half  a  year  in- 
visible to  the  naked  eye  and  usually  to  telescopes.  After  this  it  begins 
again  to  increase,  but  more  rapidly  than  it  decreased.  It  is  visible  to  the 
naked  eye  for  three  or  four  months  of  its  period.  Of  all  the  variable  stars 
yet  observed  in  Perseus,  Algol  has  the  shortest  period,  being  sixty-eight 
hours  forty-nine  minutes.  It  appears  for  about  sixty  hours  a  star  of  the 
second  magnitude,  then  decreases  for  four  hours,  and  appears  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  of  the  fourth  magnitude,  after  which  it  increases  again  for  four 
hours.  Various  explanations  have  been  offered  of  these  mysterious  appear- 
ances; the  stars  are  supposed  to  turn  on  their  axis,  and  to  have  their  sur- 
faces equally  luminous  in  different  places;  or  a  large  dark  body  is  assumed 
to  be  revolving  about  the  luminous  one,  so  as  to  intercept  more  or  less  of 
its  light  in  different  positions;  or  the  stars  are  lens-shaped,  etc.  There  is 
nothing,  however,  inadmissible  in  the  supposition  that  the  intensity  of  the 
light  itself  may  vary;  and  if  in  other  suns,  why  not  in  our  own  ? 

Allied  to  the  variable  stars  are  the  new  or  temporary  stars  that  appear 
suddenly  in  great  splendor,  and  then  disappear  without  leaving  a  trace.  A 
number  of  instances  are  on  record.  It  is  not  impossible  that  these  also  may 
be  periodic. 

From  the  appearances  connected  with  the  Milky  "Way  or  Galaxy,  Sir  W. 
Herschel  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  stars  forming  our  firmament  do 
not  extend  indefinitely  into  space,  but  are  limited  in  all  directions,  the  mass 
having  a  definite  shape.  He  conceived  the  shape  to  be  something  like  that 
of  a  huge  millstone,  having  one  side  cleft,  and  the  two  laminae  set  apart  at 
a  small  angle.  This  supposition  accounts  for  the  appearance  of  the  Milky 
Way,  and  all  subsequent  observations  have  tended  to  confirm  the  conjec- 
ture. Situated  as  we  are  within  the  system,  we  cannot  hope  ever  to  attain 
more  than  a  rude  notion  regarding  it;  to  get  a  definite  outline,  we  must  bo 
placed  without  it. 

But  this  star  system,  which  we  may  call  our  own,  as  our  sun  belongs  to 
it,  is  but  an  item  in  the  stellar  universe.  The  appearances  known  as 
nebulae,  in  many  cases  at  least,  are  believed  to  be  similar  agglomerations  of 
suns,  separated  from  our  system  and  from  one  another  by  unfathomable  star- 
less intervals.  Their  forms  are  very  various,  but  in  general  pretty  well  de- 
fined and  not  without  symmetry.  The  aspect  of  some  of  them  is  even  startling. 

Comets.— The  word  comet  is  derived  from  the  Gr.  kom.e,  hair,  a  title 
which  had  its  origin  in  the  hairy  appearance  often  exhibited  by  the  haze  or 
luminous  vapor,  the  presence  of  which  is  at  first  sight  the  most  striking 


412       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

characteristic  of  the  celestial  bodies  called  by  this  name.  The  general  fea- 
ture of  a  comet  are — a  definite  point  or  nucleus,  a  nebulous  light  surround- 
ing the  nucleus,  and  a  luminous  train  preceding  or  following  the  nucleus. 
Anciently,  when  the  train  preceded  the  nucleus— as  is  the  case  when  a 
comet  has  passed  its  perihelion  and  recedes  from  the  sun --it  was  called  the 
beard,  being  only  termed  the  tail  when  seen  following  the  nucleus  as  the 
sun  is  approached.  This  distinction  has  disappeared  from  all  modern  as- 
tronomical works,  and  the  latter  name  is  given  to  the  appendage,  whatever 
its  apparent  position.  Neither  this  luminous  attendant,  the  tail,  nor  the 
nucleus,  is  now  considered  an  essential  cometary  element,  but  all  bodies 
are  classed  as  comets  which  have  a  motion  of  their  own  and  describe  orbits 
of  an  extremely  elongated  form.  There  are  several  plain  points  of  differ- 
ence between  comets  and  planets.  The  planets  move  in  the  same  direction, 
from  west  to  east,  which  is  astronomically  called  "  direct  motion;  "  but  the 
movements  of  comets  are  often  from  east  to  west,  or  retrograde.  The  orbits 
of  all  the  planets  are  confined  to  a  zone  of  no  great  breadth  on  either  side 
of  the  ecliptic;  but  the  paths  of  comets  cut  the  ecliptic  in  every  direction, 
some  being  even  perpendicular  to  it.  The  orbits  of  all  the  planets  are  nearly 
circular;  or,  more  properly  speaking,  are  ellipses  of  very  small  eccentricity. 
The  orbits  of  comets,  on  the  other  hand,  present  every  variety  of  eccen- 
tricity, some  of  them  being  ellipses  or  elongated  closed  orbits  of  various  de- 
grees of  elongation;  others,  hyperbolas;  while  the  majority  have  a  form  ol 
orbit  not  differing  sensibly  from  the  parabola,  which  is  the  limiting  form  of 
curve  to  which  both  the  ellipse  and  hyperbola  approximate  under  given 
conditions. 

The  discovery  that  comets  are  celestial  bodies,  extraneous  to  our  at- 
mosphere, is  due  to  Tycho  Brahe,  who  ascertained  the  fact  by  observations 
of  the  comet  of  1557.  Newton  succeeded  in  demonstrating  that  they  are 
guided  in  their  movements  by  the  same  principle  which  controls  the  planets 
in  their  orbits;  and  Halley  was  the  first,  by  determining  the  parabolic  ele- 
ments of  a  number  of  comets  from  the  recorded  observations,  to  identify  the 
comet  of  1682  with  one  which  had  been  observed  in  1607  and  the  observa- 
tions recorded  by  Kepler  and  Longomontanus,  and  also  with  a  comet  ob- 
served in  1531  by  Apian,  at  Ingolstadt,  and  thus  confidently  to  predict  the 
return,  at  the  end  of  1758  or  beginning  of  1759,  of  a  comet  which  would  have 
the  same  parabolic  elements. 

The  celebrated  comet  of  1680,  which  furnished  Newton  with  the  occasion 
for  proving  that  comets  revolve  around  the  sun  in  conic  sections,  and  that, 
consequently,  they  are  retained  in  their  orbits  by  the  same  force  as  that 
which  regulates  the  movements  of  the  planets,  appears  to  have  been  about 
the  most  remarkable  for  brilliancy  of  any  of  which  we  have  authentic 
accounts.  This  comet  is  supposed  to  be  identical  with  the  one  that  appeared 
about  the  time  of  Caesar's  death  (44  B.C.),  with  that  which  was  seen  in  the 
reign  of  Justinian  in  the  year  531,  and  with  another  in  the  year  1106,  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  II,  the  period  of  revolution,  according  to  the  orbit  calculated 
for  it  by  Whiston,  being  about  575  years.  There  is,  however,  gome  doubt 
among  astronomers  as  to  the  real  form  of  its  orbit,  the  one  assigned  to  it  by 
Encke  giving  it  a  period  of  8,813  years.  This  comet  approached  nearer  to 
the  sun  than  any  known,  except  perhaps  the  comet  of  1843,  the  calculation 
of  whose  perihelion  distance,  from  the  paucity  of  observations,  has  little 
certainty.  The  comet  of  1680  approached  the  sun  within  the  163d  of  the 
semi-diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit.  The  tail  of  a  comet  is  nearly  always 
away  from  the  sun,  frequently  assuming  a  curved  form.  It  increases  in 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  413 

length  with  its  proximity  to  the  sun,  but  does  not  acquire  its  greatest  length 
till  after  passing  the  perihelion.  These  are  usual  characteristics  of  comets, 
which  were  exemplified  by  this  one  in  a  remarkable  degree.  These 
phenomena  might  be  accounted  for  if  we  were  to  regard  the  train  as  vapor- 
ization produced  by  the  intense  heat  to  which  the  body  of  the  comet  is 
exposed  in  its  approach  to  the  sun. 

In  the  present  century,  the  comets  most  remarkable  for  brilliancy  have 
been  the  comet  of  1811,  that  of  1843,  that  of  1858,  and  that  of  1882. 

Spectroscopic  investigation,  so  far  as  yet  pursued,  points  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  nucleus  is  self-luminous,  but  that  the  tail  shines  with  reflected 
light.  It  has  been  discovered  recently,  in  determining  the  tracks  of  those 
streams  of  dark  bodies  that  cause  meteoric  showers,  that  some  of  the  tracks 
coincide  with  the  orbits  of  well-known  comets.  From  this,  it  is  inferred 
that  star  showers  and  comets  may  be  only  different  manifestations  of  the 
same  thing. 

The  Aurora  Borealis,  or  Northern  Lights.— This  is  the  name 
given  to  the  luminous  phenomenon  which  id  seen  towards  the  north  of  the 
heavens  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  higher  latitudes.  During  the  winter  of 
the  northern  hemisphere,  the  inhabitants  of  the  arctic  zone  are  without  the 
light  of  the  sun  for  months  together,  and  their  long,  dreary  night  is  relieved 
by  the  light  of  this  beautiful  meteor,  which  occurs  with  great  frequency  in 
these  regions.  Those  who  have  explored  the  southern  seas  have  seen  the 
same  phenomenon  in  the  direction  of  the  south  pole,  so  that  the  term  polar 
lights  might  be  more  appropriate  than  northern  lights  to  designate  the 
aurora.  The  appearance  of  the  aurora  borealis  has  been  described  by  a 
great  variety  of  observers,  all  of  whom  give  substantially  the  same  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  phenomenon  takes  place.  It  is  briefly  as  fol- 
lows: A  dingy  aspect  of  the  sky  in  the  direction  of  the  north  is  generally  the 
precursor  of  the  aurora;  and  this  gradually  becomes  darker  in  color,  and 
assumes  tbe  form  of  a  circular  segment  surrounded  by  a  luminous  arch,  and 
resting  at  each  end  on  the  horizon.  This  dark  segment,  as  it  is  called,  has 
the  appearance  of  a  thick  cloud,  and  is  frequently  seen  as  such  in  the  fading 
twilight  before  the  development  of  the  auroral  light.  Its  density  must, 
however,  be  very  small,  as  stars  are  sometimes  seen  shining  brightly 
through  it.  This  dark  segment  is  bounded  by  a  luminous  arch  of  a  bluish- 
white  color,  which  varies  in  breadth  from  one  to  six  diameters  of  the  moon, 
having  the  lower  edge  sharply  defined,  and  the  upper  edge  only  when  the 
breadth  of  the  arch  is  small.  This  arch  may  be  considered  to  be  a  part  of 
a  luminous  ring  elevated  at  a  considerable  distance  above  the  earth's  sur- 
face, and  having  its  center  corresponding  with  some  point  near  the  north 
pole.  An  observer  several  degrees  south  of  this  auroral  ring  would  see 
towards  the  north  only  a  small  arc  of  it,  the  larger  part  being  hid  by  the 
earth;  to  one  situated  not  so  far  south,  it  would  appear  as  a  larger  and 
higher  arch;  to  one  placed  below  it,  it  would  be  seen  as  an  arch  passing 
through  the  zenith;  and  to  one  situated  within  the  ring  and  farther  north, 
it  would  be  found  as  an  arch  culminating  in  the  south.  On  this  supposition, 
nearly  all  the  various  positions  of  the  auroral  arch  may  be  accounted  for. 
The  center  of  the  ring  corresponds  probably  with  the  magnetic  north,  which 
is  at  present  situated  in  the  island  of  Boothia-Felix.  Hence  it  is  that  in 
Greenland,  which  is  situated  to  the  east  of  this  island,  the  auroral  arch  has 
been  seen  stretching  from  north  to  south,  with  its  highest  point  in  the  west. 
The  luminous  arch,  once  formed,  remains  visible  for  several  hours,  and  is 


414      CYCLOPAEDIA    OP    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

in  a  constant  state  of  motion.  It  rises  and  falls,  extends  towards  the  east 
and  towards  the  west,  and  breaks  sometimes  in  one  part,  and  sometimes  in 
another.  These  motions  become  all  the  more  observable  when  the  arch  ia 
about  to  shoot  forth  rays;  then  it  becomes  luminous  at  one  point,  eats  in 
upon  the  dark  segment,  and  a  ray  of  similar  brightness  to  the  arch  mounts 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  towards  the  zenith.  The  ray  seldom  keeps 
the  same  form  for  any  length  of  time;  but  undergoes  continual  changes, 
moving  eastward  and  westward,  and  fluttering  like  a  ribbon  agitated  by  the 
wind.  After  some  time,  it  gradually  fades  in  brightness,  and  at  last  gives 
way  to  other  rays.  When  the  aurora  attains  its  full  brightness  and  activity, 
rays  are  projected  from  every  part  of  the  arch,  and  if  they  do  not  rise  too 
high,  it  presents  the  appearance  of  a  comb  furnished  with  teeth.  When  the 
rays  are  very  bright,  they  sometimes  assume  a  green,  sometimes  a  violet,  a 
purple,  or  a  rose  color,  giving  to  the  whole  a  variegated  and  brilliant  effect. 
When  the  rays  darted  by  the  luminous  arch  are  numerous  and  of  great 
length,  they  culminate  in  a  point  which  is  situated  in  the  prolongation  of 
the  dipping-needle,  somewhat  southeast  of  the  zenith.  There  they  form 
•what  is  called  the  boreal  crown;  and  the  whole  heavens,  towards  the  east, 
west  and  north  present  the  appearance  of  a  vast  cupola  of  fire,  supported  by 
columns  of  variously  colored  light.  When  the  rays  are  darted  less  brilliantly, 
the  crown  first  disappears,  then,  here  and  there,  the  light  becomes  faint  and 
intermittent,  till  at  last  the  whole  phenomenon  fades  from  the  sky. 

The  intimate  connection  between  the  aurora  borealis  and  the  magnetism 
of  the  earth  is  shown  by  various  facts.  During  the  occurrence  of  the  phe- 
nomenon, the  magnetic  needle  appears  very  much  disturbed,  sometimes 
deviating  several  degrees  from  its  normal  position,  and  appearing  to  be 
most  affected  when  the  aurora  is  brightest;  and  this  oscillation  is  frequently 
perceived  far  beyond  the  district  where  the  aurora  is  seen.  The  vertex, 
likewise,  of  the  luminous  arch  is  almost  always  found  to  be  in  or  very  near 
the  magnetic  meridian,  and  the  boreal  crown  has  its  seat  in  the  prolongation 
of  the  freely  suspended  needle.  There  seems,  moreover,  to  be  a  connection 
between  the  magnetic  poles  of  the  earth  in  regard  to  the  aurora,  for,  so  far 
as  has  been  ascertained,  the  meteor  occurs  simultaneously  at  both.  The 
aurora  borealis  appears  to  be  an  electric  discharge  connected  with  mag- 
netic disturbance.  If  one  of  Gassiot's  vacuous  tubes  be  brought  near  an 
electric  machine,  or  between  the  poles  of  an  induction  coil,  flashes  of  light 
pass  between  the  ends,  which  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  aurora 
borealis.  A  comparison  of  the  spectra  of  the  two  goes  far  to  establish 
identity.  The  auroral  spectral  line,  according  to  Angstrom,  is  a  yellow  line 
near  the  sodium  line,  and  is  the  same  as  the  air  line  seen  in  the  solar  light 
when  the  sun  is  near  the  horizon.  Other  lines,  however,  have  been  seen, 
which  cannot  as  yet  be  produced  by  the  physicist  from  any  known  Hub- 
stance. 

Sound. — Sound  is  the  impression  produced  on  the  ear  by  the  vibrations 
of  the  elastic  medium,  such  as  air  or  water,  in  which  it  is  plunged.  That 
this  is  the  case  is  proved,  first,  by  the  fact  that  a  bell  or  tuning  fork  in 
vacua  gives  no  sound  when  struck,  second,  by  ftie  fact  that  mere  currents, 
as  such  (winds,  running  water,  etc.)  do  not  produce  the  sensation  of  sound 
until  they  are  frittered  down  into  vibratory  motion  by  obstacles. 

The  most  untutored  ear  distinguishes  at  once  between  a  mere  noise  and  a 
musical  note.  It  of  course  distinguishes  a  loud  sound  from  a  faint  one. 
Moreover,  it  distinguishes  musical  notes  from  one  another  by  their  shrill- 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  416 

n«88  or  gravity,  or,  as  it  is  technically  called,  their  pitch.  Again,  as  in  the 
case  of  vowel-sounds  sung  to  the  same  musical  note,  or,  as  in  the  case  of 
different  instruments  (flute  and  violin,  for  instance)  playing  the  same  note, 
it  distinguishes  something  further— which  is  called  the  quality  of  the  note. 
It  is  on  the  pitch  of  notes  that  the  theory  of  music  is  based,  for  the  quality 
is  only  of  importance  in  giving  variety,  as  in  orchestral  music— or  in  giving 
richness  of  tone  in  a  solo.  The  most  perfect  music,  so  far  as  theory  goes, 
may  be  executed  on  the  poorest  instrument,  but  it  gives  little  pleasure,  from 
the  want  of  richness  or  quality.  In  the  same  way  a  singer  may  possess 
faultless  intonation,  yet  the  performance,  though  musically  perfect,  may, 
from  the  harsh  quality  of  the  voice,  be  unpleasant.  We  intend,  in  the  pres- 
ent article,  to  avoid  everything  connected  with  music,  and  have  made  these 
remarks  to  show  that  there  is  something  in  the  theory  of  sound  more  pro- 
found than  is  contemplated  in  the  theory  of  music. 
The  questions  we  have  now  to  discuss  are: 

1.  What  constitutes  the  difference  between  a  mere  noise  and  a  musical 
note? 

2.  On  what  does  the  pitch  of  a  note  depend  ? 

3.  On  what  does  its  quality  depend  ? 

The  answers  to  these  queries  are  all  contained  hi  the  following  statement: 

"  Every  musical  note  consists  in  the  repetition,  at  equal  small  intervals 
of  time,  of  some  definite  noise;  the  pitch  depends  on  the  rate  of  repetition; 
and  the  quality  upon  the  nature  of  the  fundamental  noise." 

If,  for  instance,  the  edge  of  a  card  be  held  to  a  revolving  toothed-wheel, 
a  definite  noise  is  produced  as  each  tooth  bends  the  card  and  allows  it  to 
spring  back.  While  the  wheel  revolves  slowly,  we  can  distinguish  these 
successive  noises;  but  when  it  is  revolving  so  fast  that  they  are  no  longer 
separately  distinguishable,  the  character  of  the  sound  changes  completely. 
It  now  becomes  continuous,  and,  so  far  as  the  ear  can  detect,  uniform,  and 
thus  becomes  a  musical  note.  As  the  wheel  is  made  to  revolve  faster  and 
faster,  the  pitch  of  the  note  rises,  till  it  becomes  a  sort  of  shriek,  and  finally 
becomes  inaudible.  The  "  Sirene  "  gives  another  excellent  illustration.  In 
this  case,  the  fundamental  noise  is  produced  by  a  puff  of  air  escaping  from 
an  orifice;  and  we  observe,  just  as  before,  that  the  greater  the  number  of 
such  puffs  per  second,  after  they  have  become  so  frequent  as  to  be  sepa- 
rately undistinguishable,  the  higher  is  the  nitch  of  the  musical  note  pro- 
duced. 

Now,  if  by  machinery  we  arrange  matters  ;3O  that  the  sirene  and  the 
toothed-wheel  give  the  number  of  puffs  and  the  number  of  impacts  on  the 
card  the  same  per  second,  the  musical  note  produced  by  each  has  the  same 
pitch.  But  the  notes  differ  greatly  in  quality,  the  one  being  exceedingly 
soft  and  pleasant,  and  other  harsh  and  grating.  The  pitch,  therefore,  de- 
pends on  the  number  of  noises  per  second,  and  the  quality  upon  the  nature 
of  the  fundamental  noise. 

As  the  velocity  of  sound  is  ten  times  greater  than  that  of  wind  in  the 
most  violent  hurricane,  it  is  not  air  itself  which  is  transferred  from  place  to 
place,  but  a  state  of  disturbance  (condensation  or  rarefaction)  of  {he  air. 
Each  successive  layer  of  air  in  the  path  of  the  sound  suffers  this  disturbance 
hi  turn,  and  by  virtue  of  its  elasticity,  passes  it  on  to  the  next. 

Newton  was  the  first  who  attempted  to  deduce  from  mechanical  princi- 
ples the  velocity  of  sound,  but  only  for  the  particular  case  in  which  each 
particle  of  air,  in  the  path  of  the  sound,  is  supposed  to  move  backwards  and 
forwards  according  to  the  same  law  as  the  bob  of  a  pendulum.  He  showec" 


«.6        CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

that  this  species  of  motion  is  consistent  with  the  elastic  properties  of  air,  ia 
given  by  Boyle's  or  Mariotte's  Law,  viz.,  that  the  pressure  of  air  is  propor- 
tional to  its  density.  The  velocity  of  sound  in  this  case  is  of  course  to  be 
found  from  the  time  which  elapses  between  the  commencement  of  the  motion 
of  any  one  particle  of  air,  and  that  of  another  at  a  given  distance  from  it, 
in  the  direction  in  which  the  sound  is  moving.  The  numerical  result  de- 
duced by  Newton  with  the  then  received  experimental  data  for  the  com- 
pressibility of  air,  was  979  feet  per  second.  This  investigation  was  very 
defective,  applying,  in  fact,  solely  to  the  special  case  of  a  pure  musical  note, 
continually  propagated  without  lateral  divergence;  yet  the  solution  obtained 
by  Lagrange  from  a  complete  analysis  of  the  question,  gave  precisely  the 
same  mathematical  result. 

But,  by  direct  measurements,  carefully  made,  by  observing  at  night  the 
interval  which  elapses  between-  the  flash  and  the  report  of  a  cannon  at  a 
known  distance,  the  velocity  of  sound  has  been  found  to  be  considerably 
greater— in  fact,  about  1,090  feet  per  second,  at  the  temperature  of  freezing 
water. 

Newton  seeks  for  the  cause  of  this  discrepancy  between  theory  and  ob- 
servation in  the  idea  that  the  size  of  the  particles  of  air  is  finite  compared 
with  their  mutual  distance;  and  that  sound  is  instantaneously  propagated 
through  the  particles  themselves. 

This  is  not  one  of  Newton's  happiest  conjectures — for,  independent  of  the 
fact  that  such  an  assumption  would  limit  definitely  the  amount  of  com- 
pression which  air  could  undergo,  and,  besides,  is  quite  inconsistent  with 
the  truth  of  Boyle's  law  for  even  moderate  pressure,  it  would  result  from  it 
that  sound  should  travel  slower  in  rarefied,  and  quicker  in  condensed  air. 
Now,  experiment  shows  that  the  velocity  of  sound  is  unaffected  by  the 
height  of  the  barometer;  and,  indeed,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  this  ought  to  be 
the  case.  For  in  condensed  air  the  pressures  are  increased  proportionally 
to  the  increase  of  condensation,  and  the  mass  of  a  given  bulk  of  air  is  in- 
creased in  the  same  proportion.  Hence,  in  a  sound-wave  in  condensed  air, 
the  forces  and  the  masses  are  increased  proportionally,  and  thus  the  rate 
of  motion  is  unaltered.  But  the  temperature  of  the  air  has  an  effect  on 
sound,  since  we  know  that  the  elastic  force  is  increased  by  heat,  even  when 
the  density  is  not  diminished;  and  therefore  the  velocity  of  sound  increases 
with  the  temperature  at  the  rate  of  about  4,^  feet  per  Fahrenheit  degree  as 
is  found  by  experiment. 

Newton's  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  between  theory  and  experiment 
being  thus  set  aside,  various  suggestions  were  made  to  account  for  it;  some, 
among  whom  was  Euler,  imagining  that  the  mathematical  methods  em- 
ployed, being  only  approximate,  involved  a  serious  error. 

The  explanation  was  finally  given  by  Laplace,  and  is  simple  and  satis- 
factory. When  air  is  suddenly  compressed  (as  it  is  by  the  passage  of  a 
sound-wave),  it  is  heated;  when  suddenly  rarefied,  it  is  cooled,  and  this 
effect  is  large  enough  to  introduce  a  serious  modification  into  the  mathe- 
matical investigations.  The  effect  is  in  either  case  to  increase  the  forces  at 
work — for,  when  compressed,  and  consequently  heated,  the  pressure  is 
greater  than  that  due  to  the  mere  compression — and,  when  rarefied,  and 
consequently  cooled,  the  pressure  is  diminished  by  more  than  the  amount 
due  to  the  mere  rarefaction.  When  this  source  of  error  is  removed,  the 
mathematical  investigation  gives  a  result  as  nearly  agreeing  with  that  of 
observation  as  is  consistent  with  the  unavoidable  wrors  of  all  experimental 
data.  It  is  to  be  observed  that,  in  noticing  this  investigation,  nothimg  has 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  417 

been  saia  '.•*  to  the  pitch  or  quality  of  the  sound,  for  these  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  velocity.  It  must,  however,  be  remarked  here  that,  in  the 
mathematical  investigation,  the  compressions  and  rarefactions  are  assumed 
to  be  very  small;  i.  e.,  the  sound  is  supposed  to  be  of  moderate  intensity. 
It  does  not  follow,  therefore,  that  very  violent  sounds  have  the  same  velocity 
as  moderate  ones,  and  many  curious  observations  made  during  thunder- 
storms seem  to  show  that  such  violent  sounds  are  propagated  with  a  greatly 
increased  velocity.  It  is  recorded  that  in  one  of  Parry's  arctic  voyages, 
during  gun-practice,  the  officer's  command  "  Fire,"  was  heard  at  great  dis- 
tances across  the  ice  after  the  report  of  the  gun. 

Since  sound  consists  in  a  wave-propagation,  we  should  expeit  to  find  it 
exhibit  all  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  waves.  Thus,  for  instance,  it  is 
reflected  according  to  the  same  law  as  light.  It  is  refracted  in  passing  from 
one  medium  to  another  of  different  density  or  elasticity.  This  has  been 
proved  by  concentrating  in  a  focus  the  feeble  sound  of  the  ticking  of  a 
watch,  and  rendering  it  audible  at  a  considerable  distance,  by  means  of  a 
lens  of  collodion  films  filled  with  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Sounds  interfere  to  reinforce  each  other,  or  to  produce  silence;  just  as 
the  creat  of  one  wave  may  be  superposed  on  the  crest  of  another,  or  may 
apparently  destroy  all  motion  by  filling  up  its  trough.  The  simplest  mode 
of  showing  this  is  to  hold  near  the  ear  a  vibrating  tuning-fork  and  turn  it 
slowly  round  its  axis.  In  some  positions,  the  sounds  from  the  two  branches 
reinforce,  in  others  they  weaken,  each  other.  But  if,  while  the  sound  is 
almost  inaudible,  an  obstacle  be  interposed  between  the  ear  and  one  of  the 
branches,  the  sound  is  heard  distinctly. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  diminution  of  loudness  or  intensity  of  a  sound  at 
a  distance  from  its  source,  let  us  consider  a  series  of  spherical  waves  di- 
verging from  a  point.  The  length,  of  a  wave,  as  we  know  from  the  theory, 
does  not  alter  as  it  proceeds.  Hence,  if  we  consider  any  one  spherical 
wave,  it  will  increase  in  radius  with  the  velocity  of  sound,  but  its  thickness 
will  remain  unaltered.  The  same  disturbance  is  thus  constantly  transferred 
to  masses  of  air  greater  and  greater  in  proportion  to  the  surface  of  the 
spherical  wave,  and  therefore  the  amount  in  a  given  bulk  (say  a  cubic  inch) 
of  air  will  be  inversely  proportional  to  this  surface.  Bvt  the  surface  of 
spheres  are  as  the  squares  of  their  radii — hence  the  disturbance  in  a  given 
mass  of  air,  i.  e.,  the  loudness  of  the  sound,  is  inversely  as  the  square  of  the 
distance  from  the  source.  This  follows  at  once  from  the  law  of  conservation 
of  energy,  if  we  neglect  the  portion  which  is  constantly  being  frittered  down 
into  heat  by  fluid  friction.  All  sounds,  even  in  the  open  air,  much  more 
rapidly  in  rooms,  are  extinguished  ultimately  by  conversion  into  an  equiva- 
lent of  heat.  Hence  sounds  really  diminish  in  intensity  at  a  greater  rate 
than  that  of  the  inverse  square  of  the  distance;  though  there  are  cases  on 
record  in  which  sounds  have  been  heard  at  distances  of  nearly  200  miles. 
But  if,  as  in  speaking-tubes  and  speaking-trumpets,  sound  be  prevented 
from  diverging  in  spherical  waves,  the  intensity  is  diminished  only  by  fluid 
inction,  and  thus  the  sound  is  audible  at  a  much  greater  distance,  but  of 
course  It  is  confined  mainly  to  a  particular  direction. 

As  already  remarked,  the  purest  sounds  are  those  given  by  a  tuning- 
fork,  which  (by  vbe  laws  of  the  vibration  of  elastic  solids)  vibrates  according 
to  the  same  law  as  a  pendulum,  and  communicates  exactly  the  same  mode 
of  vibration  to  the  air.  If  two  precisely  similar  tuning-forks  be  vibrating 
with  equal  energy  beside  each  other,  we  may  have  either  a  sound  of  double 
the  intensity,  or  anything  less,  to  perfect  silence,  according  ts  tbsic  rslatj™ 


418       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

phases.  If  the  branches  of  both  be  at  their  greatest  elongations  simultane- 
ously, we  have  a  doubled  intensity — if  one  be  at  its  widest,  and  the  other 
at  its  narrowest,  simultaneously,  we  have  silence,  for  the  condensation  pro- 
duced by  one  is  exactly  annihilated  by  the  rarefaction  produced  by  the 
«ther,  and  vice  versa.  But  if  the  branches  of  one  bo  loaded  with  a  little 
wax  so  as  to  make  its  oscillations  slightly  slower,  it  will  gradually  fall  be- 
hind the  other  in  its  motion,  and  we  shall  have  in  succession  every  grade  of 
intensity  from  the  double  of  either  sound  to  silence.  The  effect  will  be  a 
periodic  swelling  and  dying  away  of  the  sound,  and  this  period  will  be 
longer  the  more  nearly  the  two  forks  vibrate  in  the  same  time.  This  phe- 
nomenon is  called  a  beat,  and  we  see  at  once  from  what  precedes,  that  it 
affords  an  admirable  criterion  of  a  perfect  unison,  that  is,  of  two  notes  whose 
pitch  is  the  same.  It  is  easy  to  see,  by  the  same  kind  of  reasoning,  that  if 
two  forks  have  their  times  of  "vibration  nearly  as  1 :  2,  2  :  3,  etc. — i.  e.,  any 
simple  numerical  ratio — there  will  be  greater  intervals  between  the  beats 
according  as  the  exact  ratio  is  more  nearly  arrived  at. 

Light. — Light  ie  the  subject  of  the  science  of  optics.  Every  one  knows 
that  light  diverges  from  a  luminous  center  in  all  directions,  and  that  its 
transmission  in  any  direction  is  straight.  It  travels  with  great  velocity, 
which  has  been  ascertained,  by  observations  on  the  eclipses  of  Jupiter's 
satellites  and  other  means,  to  be  186,000  miles  per  second.  Shadows  are  a 
result  of  ita  straight  transmission;  and  it  follows  from  its  diverging  in  all 
directions  from  a  luminous  center,  that  its  intensity  diminishes  inversely  as 
the  square  of  the  distance  from  the  center.  When  it  falls  on  the  surfaces  of 
bodies,  it  is  reflected  from  them,  regularly  or  irregularly,  totally  or  partially, 
or  is  partly  or  wholly  transmitted  or  refracted  through  them.  The  facts  of 
observation  on  which  catoptrics  is  founded  are  two:  1.  in  the  reflection  of 
light,  the  incident  ray,  the  normal  to  the  surface,  and  the  reflected  ray  ar* 
in  one  plane;  2.  The  angle  of  reflection  is  equal  to  the  angle  of  incidence, 
Similar  to  these  are  the  physical  laws  on  which  dioptrics  is  founded.  When 
a  ray  of  homogeneous  light  is  incident  on  a  refracting  surface:  1.  The  in- 
cident and  refracted  ray  lie  in  the  same  plane  as  the  normal  at  the  point  o/ 
incidence,  and  on  opposite  sides  of  it;  2.  The  side  of  the  angle  of  incidence, 
whatever  that  angle  may  be,  bears,  to  the  angle  of  refraction,  a  ratio  de- 
pendent only  on  the  nature  of  the  media  between  which  the  refraction  taket 
place,  and  on  the  nature  of  the  light.  In  stating  these  laws,  we  have  hinted 
at  light  being  of  different  kinds.  At  one  time  it  was  not  supposed  that 
color  had  anything  to  do  with  light;  now,  there  is  no  serious  dispute  but 
that  there  are  lights  of  different  colors  with  different  properties,  thougk 
obeying  the  same  general  laws. 

Two  hypotheses  have  been  advanced  to  explain  the  different  phenomena 
of  light,  viz.:  the  theory  of  emission,  or  the  corpuscular  theory,  and  the 
theory  of  vibration,  or  the  undulatory  theory.  According  to  the  former, 
light  is  an  attenuated  imponderable  substance,  whose  colors  depend  on  the 
velocity  of  its  transmission.  It  regards  reflection  as  analogous  to  the  re- 
bounding of  elastic  bodies;  while  to  explain  refraction,  it  assumes  that  there 
are  interstices  in  transparent  bodies,  to  allow  of  the  passage  of  the  particles 
of  light,  and  that  these  particles  are  attracted  by  the  molecules  of  bodies—- 
their attraction  combining  with  the  velocity  of  the  particles  of  light  to  cause 
them  to  deviate  in  their  course.  The  undulatory  theory  assumes  that  light 
is  propagated  by  the  vibrations  of  an  imponderable  matter  termed  ether. 
On  this  view,  light  is  somewhat  similar  to  sound.  Newton  was  the  authot 


FA  MIL  I  Alt    SCIENCE.  411 

•f  the  former  theory,  and  Huyghens  may  be  regarded  as  the  author  of  the 
latter.  The  theories  were  long  rivals,  but  now  no  doubt  remains  that  the 
theory  of  undulations  hai  triumphed  over  the  other.  Its  soundness  may  be 
said  to  rest  on  similar  evidence  to  that  which  wo  have  for  the  theory  of  gravi- 
tation; it  had  not  only  satisfactorily  accounted  for  all  the  phenomena  of  light, 
but  it  has  been  the  means  of  discovering  new  phenomena.  In  fact,  it  has 
supplied  the  philosopher  with  the  power  of  prescience  in  regard  to  its  subject. 

Heat.— Heat  is  the  unknown  cause  of  the  sensation  of  warmth,  and  of 
a  multitude  of  common  phenomena  in  nature  and  art.  In  considering  this 
subject  scientifically,  it  is  necessary,  at  the  outset,  to  discard  the  ideas  con- 
veyed by  the  popular  use  of  such  words  as  heat  and  cold.  A  number  of 
bodies,  however  different,  left  for  a  long  enough  time  in  the  same  room, 
must  acquire  the  same  temperature,  or  become  in  reality  equally  warm. 
Yet  in  popular  language,  some,  as  metals,  stones,  etc.,  are  pronounced  to  be 
cold,  and  others,  as  flannel  and  fur,  warm.  The  touch,  then,  is  not  a  means 
by  which  we  can  acquire  any  definite  idea  of  the  temperature  of  a  body. 

A  heated  body  is  no  heavier  than  it  was  before  it  was  heated ;  if,  there- 
fore, heat  be  a  material  substance,  as  it  was  long  considered,  it  must  be 
imponderable.  And,  in  fact,  under  the  name  of  caloric  or  phlogiston,  it  is 
classed,  in  almost  all  but  modern  treatises,  as  one  of  the  family  of  imponder- 
ables. But  if  it  were  matter,  in  any  sense  of  the  word,  its  quantity  would  be 
unchangeable  by  human  agency.  Now  we  find  that  there  are  cases  in  which 
heat  is  produced  in  any  quantity  without  tiame,  combustion,  etc.,  as  in 
melting  two  pieces  of  ice  by  rubbing  them  together,  and  also  cases  in  which 
a  quantity  of  heat  totally  disappears.  This  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  the 
idea  of  the  materiality  of  heat.  The  only  hypothesis  that  at  all  accords  with 
the  phenomena  is,  that  heat  is  a  form  of  motion. 

Whether  it  be  a  vibration,  such  as  light  and  sound  (in  some  cases,  it  cer- 
tainly is),  or  consist  in  a  succession  of  impacts  of  the  particles  of  bodies  on 
each  other  (as  in  some  cases  it  has  been  considered  to  be),  it  is  none  the 
less  certain  that  the  amount  of  heat  in  a  body  is  to  be  measured  by  the  vis- 
viva  of  moving  particles.  But  as  we  cannot  observe  those  particles  so  as  to 
ascertain  their  vis-viva,  we  must  have  some  means  of  measuring  the  tem- 
perature of  a  body,  depending  upon  an  effect  of  heat.  Whatever  that  effect 
may  be,  it  is  obvious  that,  as  the  laws  of  nature  are  uniform,  it  will  afford 
us  a  reproducible  standard,  by  which  we  can  estimate  its  amount  at  any  time 
and  in  any  place,  and  compare  that  amount  with  another  observed  some- 
where else;  just  as  the  French  metre  is  reproducible  at  any  time,  being  the 
ten-millionth  part  of  a  quadrant  of  the  meridian. 

Now,  the  most  general  and  notable  effect  which  heat  produces  on  matter 
is  to  expand  it.  The  length  of  a  metallic  bar  varies  with  every  change  of 
temperature,  and  is  ever  the  same  at  the  same  temperature.  The  fixing  of 
the  tire  of  a  cart  wheel  is  a  very  good  instance.  No  hammering  could  fit  an 
iron  hoop  so  tightly  on  the  wood-work  of  the  wheel  as  the  simple  enlarging 
of  the  tire  by  heat,  and  its  subsequent  contraction  by  cold.  It  is  thus  pos- 
sible to  slip  it  on,  and  an  enormous  force  is  secured  to  bind  the  pieces  to- 
gether. In  almost  every  kind  of  structure,  the  expansion  and  contra«tion 
from  changes  of  temperature  require  to  be  guarded  against.  Watches  and 
clocks,  when  not  compensated,  go  faster  in  cold  weather,  and  slower  in  hot, 
an  immediate  consequence  of  the  expansion  or  contraction  of  their  balance- 
wheels  and  pendulums. 

Jf  »  flask  full  of  water  or  alcohol  be  dipped  into  hot  water  or  hel<J  OTer  9 


430      CYCLOPAEDIA.    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

lamp,  a  portion  of  the  liquid  rims  over;  a  glass  shell  which  floats  in  a  ves- 
sel of  water,  sinks  to  the  bottom  when  the  water  is  heated;  and  as  water  is 
heated,  the  hotter  water  continually  rises  to  the  surface.  Indeed,  if  the 
latter  were  not  the  case,  it  would  be  impossible  to  prevent  explosions  every 
time  we  attempted  to  boil  water  or  any  other  fluid.  If  a  bladder,  partly 
filled  with  air,  and  tightly  tied  at  the  neck,  be  heated  before  a  tire,  the  con- 
tained air  will  expand,  and  the  bladder  will  be  distended.  As  it  cools,  it 
becomes  flaccid  again  by  degrees. 

Regarding  specific  heat,  the  thermometer  indicates  the  temperature  of  a 
body,  but  gives  us  no  direct  information  as  to  the  amount  of  heat  it  contains. 
Yet  this  is  measurable,  for  we  may  take  as  our  unit  the  amount  of  heat  re- 
quired to  raise  a  pound  of  water  from  0°  to  1°,  which  is  of  course  a  definite 
standard.  As  an  instance  of  the  question  now  raised — Is  more  heat  (and  if 
so,  how  much  more)  required  to  heat  a  pound  of  water  from  zero  to  10°, 
than  to  heat  a  pound  of  mercury  between  the  same  limits  ?  We  find  by  ex- 
periment that  bodies  differ  extensively  in  the  amount  of  heat  (measured  in 
the  units  before  mentioned)  required  to  produce  equal  changes  or  tempera- 
ture in  them. 

It  is  a  result  of  experiment  (sufficiently  accurate  for  all  ordinary  purposes) 
that  if  equal  weights  of  water  at  different  temperatures  be  mixed,  the  tem- 
perature of  the  mixture  will  be  the  arithmetic  mean  of  the  original  tempera- 
tures. From  this  it  follows,  with  the  same  degree  of  approximation,  that 
equal  successive  amounts  of  heat  are  required  to  raise  the  same  mass  of 
water  through  successive  degrees  of  temperature.  As  an  instance,  suppose 
one  pound  of  water  at  50°  to  be  mixed  with  two  pounds  at  20°,  the  resulting 
temperature  of  the  mixture  is  30°;  for  the  pound  at  50°  has  lost  20°,  while 
each  of  the  other  two  pounds  has  gained  10°.  But  if  we  mix  water  and 
mercury  at  different  temperatures,  the  resulting  temperature  is  found  not 
to  agree  with  the  above  law.  Hence  it  appears  that  to  raise  equal  weights  of 
different  "bodies  through  the  same  number  of  degrees  of  temperature,  requires 
different  amounts  of  heat.  And  we  may  then  define  the  specific  heat  of  a 
substance  as  the  number  of  units  of  heat  required  to  raise  the  temperature 
of  one  pound  of  it  by  one  degree. 

By  the  definition  of  a  unit  of  heat,  it  is  at  once  seen  that  the  specific  heat 
of  water  is  unity;  and,  in  general,  the  specific  heats  of  other  bodies  are  less, 
and  are  therefore  to  be  expressed  as  proper  fractions.  For  example,  il 
equal  weights  of  water  and  mercury  be  mixed,  the  first  at  0°,  the  second  ai 
100°,  the  resulting  temperature  will  not  be  50°  (as  it  would  have  been  had 
both  bodies  been  water),  but  30-23  nearly — in  other  words,  the  amount  of' 
heat  which  raises  the  temperature  of  one  pound  of  water  3° '2,  is  that  which 
would  raise  that  of  one  pound  of  mercury  96°'77,  or  the  specific  heat  of  mer- 
cury is  l-30th  of  that  of  water.  The  following  may  be  given  as  instances  ol 
the  great  differences  which  experiment  has  shown  to  exist  among  bodies  in 
respect  of  specific  heat:  Water,  I'OOO;  turpentine,  '426;  sulphur,  '203;  iron, 
•114;  mercury,  -033. 

It  is  mainly  to  the  great  specific  heat  of  water  that  we  are  indebted  fot 
the  comparatively  small  amount  of  it  required  to  cool  a  hot  body  dropped 
into  it;  for  its  comparatively  small  loss  of  temperature  when  it  is  poured 
into  a  cold  vessel,  and  the  enormous  effects  of  the  water  of  the  ocean  i« 
modifying  climate. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  consider  the  somewhat  complex  effects  produced 
by  heat  on  the  molecular  constitution  of  bodies;  and  conversely,  the  rela- 
tions of  soUditv,  fluidity,  etc.,  to  heat.  All  bodies  (except  carbon,  which 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  421 

has  been  softened  only)  have  been  melted,  by  the  application  of  a  propei 
amount  of  heat.    The  laws  of  this  fusion  are: 

1.  Every  body  has  a  definite  melting-point,  assignable  on  the  thermome- 
tric  scale,  if  the  pressure  to  which  it  is  subjected  be  the  same. 

2.  When  a  body  is  melting,  it  retains  that  fixed  temperature,  however 
much  heat  may  be  applied,  until  the  last  particle  is  melted.    The  last,  re- 
sult ia  most  remarkable.    The  heat  applied  does  not  raise  the  temperature, 
but  produces  the  cliange  of  stale.    Hence  it  seems  to  disappear,  as  far  as  th» 
thermometer  is  concerned,  and  was  therefore  called  latent  heat. 

A  pound  of  water  at  79°  C.  added  to  a  pound  of  water  at  0"  C.,  produces, 
of  course,  Iwo  pounds  of  water  at  391-5.  Hut,  a  pound  of  water  at  79°  0. 
added  to  a  pound  of  ice  at  (P  C.,  produces  two  pounds  of  water  at  0°. 
Heat,  then,  has  disappeared  in  the  production  of  a  change  from  solidity  to 
fluidity.  And  this  we  might  expect  from  the  conservation  of  energy,  for 
actual  energy  in  the  shape  of  heat  must  be  consumed  in  producing  the  po- 
tential energy  of  the  molecular  actions  in  the  fluid.  For  every  pound  of  ice 
melted,  without  change  of  temperature,  seventy-nine  units  of  heat  are  thus 
converted  into  change  of  molecular  arrangement. 

We  give  a  few  instances  of  latent  heat  of  fusion:  Water  (as  above),  79'0; 
zinc,  28-1;  sulphur,  9'4;  lead,  5'4;  mercury,  2'8. 

In  law  1,  it  is  mentioned  that  constancy  of  pressure  is  necessary.  In 
fact,  the  freezing  (or  melting)  point  of  water  ia  lowered  by  increase  of  pres- 
sure, while  those  of  sulphur  and  wax  are  raised;  but  these  effects,  though 
extremely  remarkable,  are  very  small.  Most  bodies  contract  on  solidifying; 
•ome,  however,  as  water,  cast-iron,  type-metal,  etc.,  expand.  Thus,  a  se- 
vere frost  setting  in  after  copious  rain  splits  rocks,  etc.,  by  the  expansion  of 
freezing  water;  and  thus  also  we  obtain  in  iron  the  most  delicate  and  faith- 
ful copy  of  a  mold,  and  in  the  fusible  alloy  a  clear-cut  copy  of  a  type.  The 
modern  dynamical  theory  of  heat  enables  us  to  see  that  a  perpetual  motion 
would  be  procurable,  if  bodies  which  contract  on  solidifying  had  not  their 
melting  point  raised  by  pressure,  and  vice  versa. 

Analogous  to  the  fusion  of  a  solid  is  its  solution  in  a  liquid,  or  the  mutual 
•onversion  into  liquids  of  two  solids  which  are  intimately  mixed  in  powder. 
Here,  also,  we  should  expect  actual  energy  in  the  shape  of  heat,  to  be  used 
up  in  producing  the  potential  energy  of  the  fluid  state;  and,  indeed,  such  is 
always  the  case.  Such  changes  of  arrangement  destroy  heat,  or  produce 
cold;  but  this  in  many  cases  is  not  the  effect  observed,  as  heat  is  generally 
developed  by  the  loss  of  potential  energy,  if  there  be  chemical  action  be- 
tween the  two  substances.  Hence,  in  general,  the  observed  effect  will  be 
the  difference  of  the  heat  generated  by  chemical  action,  and  that  absorbed  in 
change  of  state. 

If  a  quantity  of  pounded  nitrate  of  ammonia  (a  very  soluble  salt)  be 
placed  in  a  vessel,  an  equal  weigh't  of  water  added,  and  the  whole  stirred 
for  a  minute  or  two  with  a  test-tube  containing  water,  the  heat  required  for 
the  solution  of  the  salt  will  be  abstracted  from  all  bodies  in  contact  with 
the  solution,  and  the  water  in  the  test-tube  will  be  frozen.  In  this  sense, 
the  compound  is  called  &  freezing  mixture. 

Of  course  the  converse  of  this  may  be  expected  to  hold,  and  latent  heat 
to  become  sensible  when  a  liquid  becomes  solid.  As  as  example,  when  a 
saturated  solution  of  sulphate  of  soda  begins  to  deposit  crystals  of  the  salt, 
the  temperature  rises  very  considerably;  and  it  is  the  disengagement  of 
latent  heat  that  renders  the  freezing  of  a  pond  a  slow  process,  even  after 
the  whole  of  the  water  has  been  reduced  nearly  to  the  freezing-point. 


422       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Almost  all  that  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of  fusion  is  true  of  vapori- 
zation, with  the  change  of  a  word  or  two.  Thus,  however  much  heat  we 
may  apply  to  a  liquid,  the  temperature  does  not  rise  above  the  boiling- 
point.  Heat,  then,  becomes  latent  in  the  act  of  vaporization,  or  rather  is 
converted  into  change  of  state.  It  is  found  by  experiment  that  540  units  of 
heat  (each  sufficient  to  heat  a  pound  of  water  1°  C.)  disappear  in  the  con- 
version of  a  pound  of  water  into  steam.  Hence  a  pound  of  steam  at  100°  C. 
is  sufficient  to  raise  5'±  pounds  of  water  from  zero  to  the  boiling-point. 

There  are  at  least  three  distinct  ways  in  which  heat  is  communicated, 
and  these  we  will  take  in  order. 

First,  as  to  conduction:  Why  is  it  that  if  one  end  of  a  poker  and  of  a  glass 
or  wooden  rod  be  put  into  a  fire,  we  can  keep  hold  of  the  other  end  of  the 
latter  much  longer  than  we  can  of  the  former  ?  The  reason  is,  that  heat  is 
more  readily  transmitted  in  the"  iron  from  particle  to  particle,  than  it  is  in 
glass  or  wood.  This  is  conduction.  It  is  to  be  noticed,  however,  that  in 
this  experiment  a  great  portion  of  the  heat  which  passes  along  each  rod  is 
given  off  into  the  air  by  the  surface.  The  mathematical  theory  of  conduc- 
tion has  been  most  exquisitely  investigated  by  Fourier,  and  after  him  by 
Poisson,  but  on  the  supposition  that  the  rate  at  which  heat  passes  from  a 
warmer  to  a  colder  portion  of  a  body  is  proportional  to  the  difference  of  tem- 
perature. As  most  of  the  experiments  which  have  been  made  with  the  ob- 
ject of  ascertaining  the  conductivity  (not  conductibility,  the  erroneous  word 
in  common  use)  of  different  bodies  have  been  made  in  this  way,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  our  knowledge  on  this  point  is  very  meagre  indeed.  We 
know  that  silver  conducts  better  than  most  other  metals,  and  that  the 
metals  in  general  conduct  better  than  other  solids;  but  here  our  present 
information  ends.  It  is  satisfactory  to  know,  however,  that  the  defects  of 
the  old  methods  are  now  fully  acknowledged,  and  that  the  important  ele- 
ment of  conductivity  will  shortly  be  accurately  known  for  all  important  sub- 
stances. Forbes  has  recently  shown  that  the  conductivity  of  iron  dimin- 
ishes as  its  temperature  increases;  and  the  same  is  probably  true  of  othe;r 
bodies.  This  invalidates  the  conclusions  of  the  mathematical  theories  abovu 
mentioned,  but  the  necessary  corrections  will  be  easily  applied  when  tho 
experimental  data  are  completely  determined. 

In  conjunction  with  their  radiating  power,  the  conductivity  of  bodies  is 
most  important  as  regards  their  suitableness  as  articles  of  clothing  for  hot 
or  cold  climates,  or  as  materials  for  building  or  furnishing  dwelling  houses. 
We  need  but  refer  to  the  difference  between  linen  and  woolen  clothing,  or 
to  the  difference  (in  cold  weather)  of  sensation  between  a  carpet  and  a 
bare  floor,  in  order  to  show  how  essential  the  greater  or  less  conducting 
power  of  bodies  is  to  our  everyday  comfort. 

By  radiation  is  understood  the  passage  of  heat,  not  from  particle  to 
particle  of  one  body,  but  through  air  or'  vacuum,  and  even  through  solid 
bodies  (in  a  manner,  and  with  a  velocity  quite  diff  erent  from  those  of  con- 
duction) from  one  body  to  another.  There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  as  to 
radiant  heat  being  identical  with  light,  differing  from  red  light,  for  instance, 
as  red  light  differs  from  blue— i.  e.,  having  longer  waves  than  those  cor- 
responding to  red  light.  This  idea  might  easily  have  arisen  during  the  con- 
templation of  a  body  gradually  heated.  At  first  it  remains  dark,  giving  off 
only  rays  of  heat;  as  its  temperature  increases,  it  gives  us,  with  the  he»t  a 
low  red  light,  which,  by  the  increase  of  the  temperature,  is  gradually  ac- 
companied by  yellow,  blue,  etc.,  rays,  and  the  incandescent  body  (a  lim»- 
ball,  for  instance)  finally  giv«a  »£  %  Ueht  84  white  &a  that  of  the  gun.  an4 


FAMILIAR  SCIENCE.  423 

which,  therefore,  contains  all  the  colors  of  sunlight  in  their  usual  propor- 
tions. In  fact  there  is  great  reason  to  believe  that  the  sun  is  merely  a  mass 
of  incandescent  melted  matter,  and  that  the  radiations  it  emits,  whether 
called  heat  or  light,  merely  differ  in  quality,  not  in  kind.  Taking  this  view 
of  the  subject  at  the  outset,  it  will  be  instructive  to  compare  the  properties 
of  radiant  heat  with  those  of  light  throughout. 

Light,  then,  moves  (generally)  in  straight  lines.  This  is  easily  verified  in 
the  case  of  heat  by  the  use  of  the  thermo-electric  pile  and  its  galvanometer. 
Placing  the  pile  out  of  the  line  from  a  source  of  heat  to  an  aperture  in  a 
screen,  no  effect  is  observed;  but  deflection  of  the  needle  at  once  occurs 
when  the  pile  is  placed  in  the  line  which  light  would  have  followed  if  sub- 
stituted for  the  heat. 

A  concave  mirror,  which  would  bring  rays  of  light  proceeding  from  a 
given  point  to  a  focus  at  another  given  point,  does  the  same  with  heat,  the 
hot  body  being  substituted  for  the  luminous  one,  and  the  pile  placed  at  the 
focus.  Heat,  then,  is  reflected  according  to  the  same  laws  as  light.  A  burn- 
ing lens  gives  a  capital  proof  of  the  sun's  heat  and  light  being  subject  to 
the  same  laws  of  refraction.  When  the  solar  spectrum  is  formed  by  means 
of  a  prism  of  rock-salt,  the  thermo-electric  pile  proves  the  existence  of  heat 
in  all  the  colored  spaces,  increasing  however,  down  to  the  red  end  of  the 
Bpectrum,  and  attaining  its  maximum  beyond  the  visible  light,  just  as  if  heat 
were  (as  it  must  be)  light  with  longer  waves. 

Some  bodies,  as  glass,  water,  etc.,  transmit,  when  in  thin  plates,  moat  of 
the  light  which  falls  on  them;  others,  as  wood,  metal,  colored  glass,  etc., 
transmit  none  or  little.  A  plate  of  rock  salt,  half  an  inch  thick,  transmit* 
96  per  cent,  of  the  rays  of  heat  which  fall  on  it;  while  glass,  even  of  a  thick- 
ness of  one-tenth  of  an  inch,  transmits  very  little.  In  this  sense  rock-salt  is 
said  to  be  diathermanous,  while  glass  is  said  to  be  adiathermanous,  or  only 
partially  diathermanous.  Most  of  the  simple  gases,  such  as  oxygen,  hydro- 
gen, etc.,  and  mixtures  of  these,  such  as  air,  oppose  very  little  resistance  to 
the  passage  of  radiant  heat;  but  the  reverse  is  the  case  with  compound 
gases.  Some  experiments  by  Tyndall  seem  to  show  that  the  vapor  of 
water  is  exceedingly  adiathermanous.  The  question,  however,  cannot  be 
considered  as  finally  settled,  since  some  of  Tyndall's  results  are  so  start- 
ling as  to  require  further  research  and  confirmation. 

Again,  light  can  be  doubly  refracted,  plane  polarized,  circularly  polarized. 
All  these  properties  have  been  found  hi  heat  by  Principal  Forbes. 

The  beautiful  investigations  of  Stokes  and  Kirchoff  on  the  solar  spectrum 
have  shown  us  that  bodies,  which  most  easily  absorb  light  of  a  particular 
color,  when  heated,  give  off  most  freely  light  of  that  color;  and  it  is  easily 
shown  by  experiment,  that  those  surfaces  which  absorb  heat  most  readily, 
also  radiate  it  most  readily.  Thus,  it  was  found  by  Leslie,  that  when  a 
tinned-iron  cube  full  of  boiling  water  had  one  side  polished,  another  rough- 
ened, a  third  covered  with  lamp-black,  etc.,  the  polished  side  radiated  little 
heat,  the  roughened  more,  while  the  blackened  side  radiated  a  very  great 
quantify  indeed.  And  again,  that  if  we  have  (say)  three  similar  thermom- 
eters, and  if  the  bulbs  be  (1)  gilded,  (2)  covered  with  roughened  metal,  (3) 
Bmoked,  and  all  be  exposed  to  the  same  radiation  of  heat,  their  sensibility 
will  be  in  the  order  3,  2,  1.  A  practical  illustration  of  this  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that  a  blackened  kettle  is  that  in  which  water  is  most  speedily  boiled,  while 
a  polished  one  keeps  the  water  longest  warm  when  removed  from  the  fire. 
Again,  if  a  willow-pattern  plate  be  heated  white-hot  in  the  fire,  and  then  ex- 
amined in  a  dark  room,  the  pattern  will  be  reversed — a  white  pattern  being 


424       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    Rfr 

seen  on  a  dark  ground.  This  experiment  of  Stewart's  is  very  remarka^e, 
and  virtually  constitutes  an  anticipation  of  KirchofTs  results  leading  to  the 
explanation  of  the  fixed  lines  in  the  spectrum.  It  is  this  law  of  radiation 
and  absorption  that  mainly  gives  rise  to  the  superior  comfort  of  white 
clothing  to  black  in  winter  as  well  as  in  summer;  radiating  less  in  winter,  it 
absorbs  less  in  summer. 

Much  has  been  argued  about  the  separate  existence  of  cold,  from  such 
facts  as  these:  A  piece  of  ice  held  before  the  thermo-electric  pile,  produces 
an  opposite  deflection  to  the  galvanometer  to  that  due  to  a  hot  ball.  If  a 
freezing  mixture  be  placed  at  one  focus  of  a  spheroidal  mirror,  and  a  ther- 
mometer with  a  blackened  bulb  at  the  conjugate  focus,  the  latter  will  fall 
speedily,  though  very  far  off  from  the  mixture.  Now,  the  real  explanation 
of  such  observations  is  to  be  found  in  what  is  called  the  "Theory  of  Ex- 
changes," first  enunciated  by  Prevost,  and  since  greatly  extended  and  care- 
fully verified  by  Stewart,  which  is  to  this  effect:  "  Everybody  is  continually 
radiating  heat  in  all  directions,  the  amount  radiated  being  (nearly)  propor- 
tional to  its  own  temperature."  Hence  the  apparent  radiation  of  cold  in  the 
experiments  above  mentioned  is  due  to  the  fact  of  the  pile  or  thermometer 
radiating  off  more  heat  than  it  receives,  as  ita  temperature  is  higher  than  that 
of  the  freezing  mixture  to  which  it  is  opposed.  From  this  it  is  evident  that 
any  number  of  bodies  left  near  each  other,  tend  gradually  to  assume  a  com- 
mon temperature.  By  this  theory  of  exchanges,  we  explain  the  cold  felt  in 
sitting  opposite  a  window  in  a  frosty  day,  even  when  there  is  no  draught. 

A  hot  body  cools  faster  in  a  current  of  air  than  in  a  still  atmosphere  of 
the  same  temperature,  evidently  because  fresh  supplies  of  the  colder  air 
are  continually  brought  into  contact  with  it.  It  is  by  convection  mainly  that 
heat  is  conveyed  from  particle  to  particle  in  liquids  and  gases.  Thus,  when 
a  lamp  is  applied  to  the  bottom  of  a  vessel  of  water,  the  heat  does  not  dti- 
fuse  itself  in  the  water  as  it  would  (by  conduction)  in  a  mass  of  metal,  but 
the  expansion  of  the  heated  water  at  the  bottom  rendering  it  lighter,  bulk 
for  bulk,  than  the  superincumbent  fluid,  causes  it  to  rise  to  the  surface;  and 
thus,  by  convection,  the  heat  is  diffused  through  the  mass.  Conduction, 
properly  so-called,  can  scarcely  be  shown,  even  if  it  really  exist,  in  liquids 
or  gases,  on  this  account.  The  tremulous  appearance  of  any  object,  as  seen 
by  light  which  passes  near  a  hot  surface,  as  that  of  a  boiler  or  a  red-hot 
poker,  is  due  to  the  convection  of  heat  in  the  air,  the  warm  current  refract- 
ing light  less  than  the  cold  air. 

The  sources  of  heat  may  be,  so  far  as  we  know,  ultimately  reduced  to 
two — chemical  combination,  and  mechanical  force;  and,  indeed,  in  all 
probability,  the  former  is  only  a  variety  of  the  immensely  different  forms  in 
which  the  latter  is  manifested. 

Combustion  is  the  term  applied  to  the  process  of  burning,  which  usually 
consists  in  the  oxygen  of  the  air  uniting  with  the  constituents  of  the  com- 
bustible substance.  Thus,  the  combustion  of  coal  is  due  to  the  oxygen  of 
the  air  passing  into  a  state  of  chemical  union  with  the  carbon  and  the  hydro- 
gen of  the  coal,  forming  carbonic  acid  and  water-vapor.  Such  chemical 
eombinations  are  always  accompanied  by  the  production  of  more  or  lees 
feeat,  as  in  the  case  of  decaying  wood  and  other  vegetable  matter;  but  it  ia 
only  when  the  action  is  so  rapid  as  to  evolve  intense  heat  accompanied  by 
light,  that  the  process  is  called  burning  or  combustion.  Though  the  gaseous 
oxygen  has  as  much  to  do  with  the  process  as  the  more  solid  material,  coal, 
wood,  paper,  or  cloth,  yet  the  latter  is  alone  styled  the  combustible  or  burn* 
ing  body,  whilst  the  oxygen  is  invariably  named  the  supporter  of  combua- 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  425 

lion.  A  fe  ff  substances  burn  at  ordinary  temperatures,  such  aa  phosphorus, 
which  glows  when  exposed  to  the  air;  but  the  generality  of  substances,  such 
as  wood,  coal,  etc.,  require  to  be  raised  in  temperature  or  be  set  fire  to  be- 
fore they  possess  the  power  of  combining  with  the  oxygen  oi  the  air.  The 
amount  of  heat  given  out  by  the  various  combustibles  when  burned,  is 
capable  of  being  measured,  and  is  definite.  The  same  weight  of  the  same 
•jombustible  invariably  evolves  the  same  amount  of  heat  during  its  complete 
combustion;  but  different  combustible  substances  give  off  different  amounts 
of  heat.  The  mode  in  which  the  heat  evolved  may  be  measured,  is  either 
(1)  To  observe  the  quantity  of  ice  which  a  given  weight  of  the  combustible 
will  melt  when  burning;  (2)  To  notice  the  weight  of  water  which  the  com- 
bustible will  convert  into  steam;  or  (3)  To  estimate  the  number  of  pounds 
of  water  which  the  burning  body  will  raise  from  32°  to  212°  Fahrenheit. 
The  last  plan  is  the  more  easily  managed  and  accurate. 

Electricity — This  is  the  name  used  in  connection  with  an  extensive 
and  important  class  of  phenomena,  and  usually  denoting  either  the  unknown 
cause  of  the  phenomena  or  the  science  that  treats  of  them.  Most  of  the 
phenomena  in  question  are  classed  under  the  three  chief  heads  of  frictional 
electricity,  galvanism  and  magneto-electricity. 

Thales,  about  600  B.  o.,  refers  in  his  writings  to  the  fact  that  amber,  when 
rubbed,  attracts  light  and  dry  bodies.  This  was  the  only  electric  fact  known 
to  the  ancients.  The  science  of  electricity  dates  properly  from  the  year 
1600  A.  D.,  when  Gilbert  of  Colchester  published  a  book  entitled  "De  Arte 
Magnetica,"  in  which  he  gives  a  list  of  substances  which  be  found  to  pos- 
sess the  same  property  as  amber,  and  speculates  on  magnetic  and  electric 
forces.  He  is  the  inventor  of  the  word  electricity,  which  he  derived  from 
the  Greek  word  electron,  amber.  Otto  von  Guericke,  burgomaster  of  Magde- 
burg, in  his  work  "Expenmenta  Nova  Magdeburspca  "  (1672),  describes, 
among  his  other  inventions,  the  first  electric  machine  ever  made,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  globe  of  sulphur  turned  by  a  handle,  and  rubbed  by  a  cloth 
pressed  against  it  by  the  hand.  Hawksbee  (1709)  constructed  a  machine  in 
which  a  glass  cylinder,  rubbed  by  the  dry  hand,  replaced  Guericke's  sulphur 
globe.  Grey  and  Wehler  (1729)  were  the  first  to  transmit  electricity  from 
one  point  to  a»other,  and  to  distinguish  bodies  into  condiictors  and  non- 
conductors. Dufay  (1733  to  1745)  showed  the  identity  of  electrics  and  non- 
conductors, and  of  non-electrics  and  conductors,  and  was  the  first  to 
discover  the  two  kinds  of  electricity,  and  the  fundamental  principle  which 
regulates  their  action.  Between  the  years  1733  and  1744,  much  attention 
was  given  in  Germany  to  the  construction  of  electric  machines.  Up  to  this 
time,  notwithstanding  the  inventions  of  Guericke  and  Hawksbee,  the  glass 
tube  rubbed  by  a  piece  of  cloth  which  Gilbert  first  introduced,  was  used  in 
all  experiments.  Boze,  a  professor  at  Wittenberg,  taking  the  hunt  from 
Hawksbee's  machine,  employed  a  globe  of  glass  for  his  machine,  and 
furnished  it  with  a  prime  conductor.  Winkler,  a  professor  at  Leipsic,  was 
bhe  first  to  use  a  fixed  cushion  in  the  machine.  The  Leyden  jar  was  (1746) 
discovered  accidentally  at  Leyden  by  Muschenbroek;  but  the  honor  of  the 
discovery  has  been  contested  also  in  favor  of  Cuneus,  a  rich  burgess  of  that 
town,  and  Kleist,  canon  of  the  cathedral  of  Gamin,  in  Pomerania.  Franklin 
(1747)  showed  the  electric  conditions  of  the  Leyden  jar,  and  (1752)  proved 
the  identity  of  lightning  and  electricity  by  his  famous  kite  experiment. 
This  last  was  performed  with  the  same  object  about  the  same  time,  and  quite 
independently,  by  Bomas  of  the  town  of  Nerac,  in  France.  In  1760  Franklin 


426       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

made  the  first  lightning  conductor.  Canton,  Wilke  and  JEpinus  (1753  to 
1759)  examined  the  nature  of  induction.  Ramsden  (1768)  was  the  first  to 
construct  a  plate  machine,  and  Nairn  (1780)  a  two  fluid  cylinder  machine. 
The  electrophorus  was  invented  by  Volta  in  1775,  and  the  condenser  by  the 
same  electrician  in  1782.  In  1786  Galvani  made  the  discovery  which  led  to 
the  addition  of  the  new  branch  to  the  science  which  bears  his  name,  and 
which  now  far  exceeds  the  older  branch  in  extent  and  practical  value.  In 
1787,  Coulomb,  by  means  of  his  torsion-balance,  investigated  the  laws  of 
electric  attraction  and  repulsion.  In  1837,  Faraday  published  the  first  of  his 
researches  on  induction.  Armstrong,  in  1840,  designed  hia  hydro-electric 
machine. 

The  fundamental  facts  regarding  frictional  electricity  may  be  thus 
stated:  Bodies  which  do  not  conduct  electricity,  or  non-conductors,  are 
capable  of  electrical  excitation  from  friction,  and  are,  in  consequence,  termed 
electrics,  and  that  conductors  not  so  affected  are  called  non-electrics. 
The  fundamental  principles  of  electricity  are  illustrated  by  the  electric  pen- 
dulum. A  glass  tube  bent  at  right  angles,  so  as  to  project  horizontally,  is 
placed  on  a  convenient  stand.  On  the  hook  in  which  its  upper  end  ter- 
minates, a  cocoon  thread  is  hung,  to  the  end  of  which  a  pith-ball  is  attached. 
The  ball  is  thus  doubly  insulated  by  the  glass  and  the  silk  thread.  If  a 
tube  of  glass  be  rubbed  by  a  dry  silk  handkerchief,  and  brought  near  the 
ball,  the  ball  is  at  first  briskly  attracted,  and  then  as  briskly  repelled;  and 
if  the  tube  be  then  moved  towards  it,  it  moves  off;  keeping  at  the  same  dis- 
tance from  it.  The  ball  being  so  affected,  or  charged,  as  it  is  called,  a  rod 
of  shell-lac  or  of  sealing  wax,  after  being  rubbed  with  flannel,  attracts  it,  if 
possible,  more  briskly  than  before,  and  again  sends  it  off  exactly  as  the 
glass  had  done.  If  the  glass  tube  be  now  again  taken  up  and  rubbed  a  sec- 
ond time,  if  necessary,  the  ball  will  act  towards  it  as  it  did  towards  the 
sealing  wax.  The  same  aeries  of  attractions  and  repulsions  would  have 
taken  place  if  we  had  begun  with  the  sealing  wax  instead  of  the  glass  tube. 
We  interpret  this  experiment  in  the  following  way:  When  glass  is  rubbed 
with  silk,  and  the  silk  removed,  it  is  charged  with  what  is  called  positive 
electricity.  The  ball  is  attracted  by  it,  and  becomes  on  contact  also  charged 
with  positive  electricity,  and  is  then  repelled.  When  sealing  wax  is  rubbed 
with  flannel,  and  the  flannel  removed,  it  becomes  charged  with  negative 
•lectricity,  which  is  the  counterpart  of  positive  electricity,  for  it  attracts  the 
positively  charged  ball,  and  communicating  its  own  electricity  to  it,  finally 
repels  it.  From  such  an  experiment  as  this,  we  conclude  that  bodies  elec- 
trified either  positively  or  negatively,  attract  neutral  bodies  and  bodies 
affected  with  electricity  of  an  opposite  name  to  their  own,  but  repel  those 
affected  with  electricity  of  the  same  name;  and  that  electricity  can  be  com- 
municated from  one  body  to  another  by  contact.  For  positive  and  negative 
(written  also  +  and  — ),  the  terms  vitreous  and  resinous  are  also  employed, 
as  glass  and  resin  are  the  typical  substances  from  which  they  may  be  ob- 
tained. Contact  is  not  the  only  way  in  which  electricity  is  communicated. 
We  find,  when  we  deal  with  larger  bodies  than  the  pith  ball  of  the  experi- 
ment, and  sometimes  even  with  it,  that  the  passage  of  a  spark  between  two 
bodies  without  contact  communicates  the  electricity  of  the  one  to  the  other. 
The  part  played  by  the  rubbers  in  the  above  experiment  must  not  be  over- 
looked. The  silk  handkerchief  employed  to  rub  the  glass  assumes  the 
resinous  or  —  electrical  state,  and  the  flannel  rubber  of  the  sealing  wax  the 
vitreous  or  +.  This  cannot,  however,  be  clearly  shown,  as  the  experiment 
is  performed,  for  the  rubbers  are  in  each  case  tightly  embraced  by  the  hand, 


FAM1L1AU    SUltitlUE.  427 

which  neutralizes  their  peculiar  electricity.  We  can  perform  our  funda- 
mental experiment  in  a  way  clearly  to  show  this.  Let  us  take  for  our  rub- 
bing and  rubbed  surfaces  two  india  rubber  balloons  inflated  with  air  (such 
as  children  play  with),  and  hold  them  tightly  one  in  each  hand.  They  may 
be  in  all  respects  perfectly  alike.  Let  us  then  rub  them  briskly  on  eaca 
other,  and  then  hold  the  rubbed  sides  closely  together.  On  bringing  the 
two  in  contact  near  the  pith  ball,  it  remains  indifferent  to  them;  but  if  we 
pull  them  apart,  and  put  one  on  each  side  of  the  pith  ball,  the  ball  plays 
actively  between  them,  being  attracted  and  repelled  by  each  in  turn.  The 
fact  of  no  attraction  occurring  when  the  balloons  are  together,  shows  that  in 
the  rubbing  both  electricities  are  generated  in  equal  quantities,  for  they 
neutralize  each  other  when  brought  near;  and  the  fact  that  the  balloons 
must  be  separated  proves  that  all  electric  phenomena  take  place  in  an  elec- 
tric field,  with  positive  electricity  at  its  one  termination,  and  negative 
electricity  at  its  other.  The  non-conducting  nature  of  the  india  rubber  pre- 
vents the  electricities  finally  neutralizing  in  contact,  and  disappearing  by 
the  hands  when  apart.  It  is  also  instructive  that  as  force  is  exerted  and 
work  is  done  in  pulling  them  apart,  we  have  the  equivalent  of  that  work  in 
the  form  of  an  electric  field  capable  of  doing  work.  The  motion  of  the  pith 
ball,  and  the  heating  caused  by  the  tiny  sparks  which  charge  it,  are  evi- 
dences of  the  truth  of  the  statement.  It  is  again  worthy  of  note  that  both 
balloons  appear  exactly  alike,  and  yet  they  assume  opposite  electricities. 

In  most  cases  of  friction,  the  nature  of  the  rubbing  and  rubbed  surfaces 
determines  the  kind  of  electricity  which  each  assumes.  Thus,  if  glass  be 
rubbed  by  a  cat's  fur  instead  of  silk,  its  electricity  is  —  instead  of  +.  In 
the  following  list,  each  body,  when  rubbed  by  any  one  preceding  it,  is  nega- 
tively electrified;  by  any  one  succeeding  it,  positively:  cat's  fur,  smooth 
glass,  linen,  feathers,  wood,  paper,  silk,  shell-lac,  ground  glass.  When  two 
pieces  of  the  same  material  are  rubbed  together,  the  colder  or  smoother  be- 
comes positively  excited.  Metal  filings  rubbing  against  a  plate  of  the  same 
metal  determine  —  electricity  in  themselves,  and  +  electricity  in  the  plate. 
When  a  white  silk  ribbon  is  rubbed  by  a  black  one  of  the  same  texture,  the 
white  one  becomes  -f .  A  plate  of  glass  becomes  +  when  a  stream  of  air  is 
directed  against  it  from  a  pair  of  bellows.  The  friction  caused  by  steam  of 
high  tension  issuing  from  a  narrow  pipe  develops  electricities  in  the  steam 
and  pipe  which  depend  on  the  material  of  the  latter.  This  fact  has  been 
turned  to  advantage  by  Armstrong  in  the  construction  of  a  boiler  electrical 
machine  ol  immense  power. 

There  are  two  theories  which  have  played  an  important  part  in  the 
history  of  the  science— the  two-fluid  theory  of  Dufay,  and  the  one-fluid 
theory  of  Franklin.  According  to  the  former,  matter  is  pervaded  with  two 
highly  elastic  imponderable  electric  fluids — one,  the  vitreous;  the  other,  the 
resinous.  These  are  supposed  to  repel  themselves,  but  attract  each  other. 
Neutral  bodies  give  no  evidence  of  their  presence,  for  they  are  neutralized 
the  one  by  the  other;  but  when  by  friction  or  other  operation  the  fluids  are 
separated,  each  body  observes  the  attractions  and  repulsions  of  the  fluid  it 
happens  to  have.  According  to  the  latter,  there  is  only  one  electric  fluid 
which  repels  itself,  but  attracts  matter.  Friction  determines  a  gain  of  the 
fluid  to  the  positive,  and  a  loss  to  the  negative  body.  Faraday's  theory  of 
electric  induction  by  contiguous  molecules  appears  to  be  gaining  ground. 
-  ft  explains  satisfactorily  how  conductors  and  ncn-conductors  are  alike  in 
J2nd;  how  the  charge  on  a  conductor  can  only  reside  at  the  boundary  of  the 
>nflm>.tor  and  non-conductor,  ot— wkich  is  the  same  thing— the  surface  of 


428      CYCLOPAEDIA    Of    USKtVL    tCNOWLKDftK. 

the  conductor;  bow  the  charge  resides  in  the  dielectric;  how  the  polarity  of 
the  galvanic  circuit  is  effected;  how  a  battery  current  originates  in  and 
effects  chemical  decomposition;  and  how  the  velocity  of  discharge  is  de- 
pendent on  the  conformation  of  the  circuit." 

Galvanism  is  that  branch  of  the  science  of  electricity  which  treats  of  the 
electric  currents  arising  from  chemical  action,  more  particularly  from  that 
attending  the  dissolution  of  metals.  It  is  sometimes  called  dynamical  elec- 
tricity, because  it  deals  with  current  electricity,  or  electricity  in  motion,  and 
is  thus  distinguished  from  frictional  electricity,  which  is  called  statical  in 
consequence  of  its  investigating  the  electric  condition  of  bodies  in  which 
electricity  remains  insulated  or  stationary.  These  terms,  although  in  the 
main  thus  properly  applied,  are  in  all  strictness  applicable  to  both  sciences. 
Frictional  electricity,  though  small  in  quantity,  can  pass  in  a  sensible  cur- 
rent, and  galvanic  electricity,  though  small  in  tension,  can  be  made  to  mani- 
fest the  attractions  and  repulsions  of  stationary  electricity.  Thus  the  series 
of  discharges  which  are  transmitted  in  a  wire  connecting  the  prime  con- 
ductor of  a  machine  in  action  with  the  ground,  possesses,  though  feebly, 
the  characteristics  of  a  galvanic  current;  and  the  insulated  poles  of  a  many 
celled  galvanic  battery,  manifest  before  the  current  begins  the  electric  ten- 
sion of  the  friction  machine. 

Magneto-electricity  includes  all  phenomena  where  magnetism  gives  rise 
to  electricity. 

Air. — Atmosphere  is  the  name  applied  to  the  gaseous  envelope  which 
surrounds  the  earth.  The  existence  of  an  atmosphere  is  to  us  a  matter  of 
vital  importance.  We  owe  to  its  influence  the  possibility  of  animal  and  veg- 
etable life,  the  modifying  and  retaining  of  solar  heat,  the  transmission  of 
sound,  the  gradual  shading  of  day  into  night,  the  disintegration  of  rocks, 
and  the  occurrence  of  weather  phenomena.  In  consequence  of  the  action 
of  gravity,  the  atmosphere  assumes  the  form  of  a  spheroidal  stratum  con- 
centric with  the  earth,  aiul  presses  heavily  on  its  surface.  It  exhibits,  in 
common  with  all  fluid  bodies,  the  usual  characteristics  of  hydrostatic  pres- 
sure, but  its  internal  condition  differs  from  that  of  a  liquid  inasmuch  as  its 
particles  repel  each  other,  and  can  only  be  held  in  proximity  by  external 
force.  From  this  circumstance,  it  follows  that  the  volume  of  any  portion  of 
air  varies  much  more  under  the  influence  of  external  pressure  than  that  of 
an  equal  volume  of  water;  hence,  the  stratum  of  air  nearest  the  earth  is 
denser  than  the  strata  in  the  upper  regions,  where,  from  their  being  sub- 
jected to  the  weight  of  a  smaller  mass  of  superincumbent  air,  the  repulsive 
force  of  the  particles  has  freer  play. 

That  air  possesses  weight,  is  illustrated  by  the  following  simple  experi- 
ment. If  a  hollow  glass  globe  of  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter  be  weighed 
first,  when  filled  with  air,  and  then,  after  the  air  has  been  extracted  from  it 
by  means  of  the  air  pump,  it  will,  when  thus  exhausted,  weigh  sensibly  less 
than  it  did  before,  and  the  difference  of  the  two  results  will  represent  the 
weight  of  the  quantity  of  air  which  has  been  withdrawn.  It  has  been  de- 
termined by  Biot  and  Arago  that  100  cubic  inches  of  dry  air,  when  the 
barometer  is  at  30  inches,  and  the  thermometer  at  60°  Fahrenheit,  weigh 
31'074  grains.  The  law  of  Archimedes,  that  a  body  immersed  in  a  fluid 
loses  a  part  of  its  weight  equal  to  the  weight  of  the  volume  of  fluid  displaced 
by  it,  finds  its  application  in  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  in  water.  If  a  glass 
globe  filled  with  air  and  closed  be  suspended  at  the  extremity  of  the  beam 
of  a  delicate  balance,  and  be  kept  in  equilibrium  by  a  brass  weight  at  tho 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  429 

other  extremity,  and  if  the  whole  be  then  placed  under  the  receiver  of  an 
air-pump,  and  the  air  extracted,  the  equilibrium  previously  existing  in  air 
will  be  disturbed,  and  the  larger  body  will  become  the  heavier.  The  rea- 
son of  this  is,  that  when  first  weighed,  they  each  lose  as  much  of  their  own 
weight  as  that  of  the  respective  volumes  of  air  displaced  by  them,  and  are 
therefore  made  buoyant,  though  iu  different  degrees,  the  ball  with  the 
larger  volume  having  the  greater  buoyancy.  In  a  vacuum,  they  are  de- 
prived of  this  buoyancy,  and  the  larger  body,  suffering  the  greater  loss, 
becomes  sensibly  heavier  than  the  other.  In  like  manner,  a  balloon  filled 
with  heated  air  or  hydrogen  gas  is  lighter  than  the  volume  of  air  displaced 
by  it.  It  is  therefore  forced  upwards  till  it  reaches  a  stratum  of  such  den- 
sity that  the  weight  of  the  volume  of  air  there  displaced  by  it  equals  the- 
weight  of  the  balloon  itself.  In  this  stratum  it  will  remain  poised,  or  move 
horizontally  with  the  currents  to  which  it  may  be  exposed. 

In  endeavoring  to  determine  iheform  of  the  atmospheric  envelope,  it  is 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that,  according  to  the  law  of  fluid-pressure,  in 
order  to  produce  a  state  of  equilibrium  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere  must  be  equal  at  that  level  over  the  whole  of  the  earth's 
surface.  Gravity  acts  with  less  force  on  the  air  at  the  equator  th  an  on  that 
at  the  poles,  in  consequence  of  the  spheroidal  form  of  the  earth.  It  has 
there,  in  addition,  to  contend  with  the  centrifugal  force,  which  entirely  fails 
at  the  poles,  and  which  has  a  tendency  to  lighten  the  air  by  acting  contrary 
to  that  of  gravity.  Hence  we  infer,  that  in  order  to  produce  the  same  pres- 
sure at  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  atmospheric  height  at  the  equator  must  be 
greater  than  that  at  the  poles,  and  that  the  atmosphere  must  therefore  pos- 
sess the  form  of  an  oblate  spheroid,  whose  oblateness  is  considerably  greater 
than  that  of  the  earth  itself.  The  greater  heat  at  the  tropical  regions  must 
also  have  the  effect  of  increasing  the  obiateness. 

The  height  of  the  atmosphere  has  not  yet  been  determined.  That  it 
must  have  a  certain  limit,  is  evident  from  the  consideration  that  there  must 
be  a  point  at  which  gravity  on  the  one  hand,  and  centrifugal  force  and  the 
repulsive  action  of  the  particles  on  the  other,  are  poised,  and  beyond  which 
the  latter  forces  on  balancing  the  former  force,  the  aerial  particles  would 
be  borne  away  from  the  earth.  As,  however,  the  law  of  the  diminution  of 
temperature,  which  materially  affects  the  repulsive  action,  is  unknown  for 
the  upper  regions  of  the  air,  it  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  height  of  the 
atmosphere  from  the  relations  of  these  forces.  From  the  observation  of 
luminous  meteors,  it  is  inferred  that  it  is  at  least  100  miles  high,  and  that, 
in  an  extremely  attenuated  form,  it  may  even  reach  200  miles. 

The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  is  one  of  its  most  important  properties. 
Its  effect  is  exhibited  in  the  action  of  the  ordinary  water-pump.  The  piston 
is  fitted  air-tight  in  its  cylinder;  and  on  being  drawn  up,  creates  a  vacuum. 
The  water  within  the  pump  being  thus  freed  from  pressure,  while  that  out- 
side of  it  is  exposed  to  the  pressure  of  a  column  of  air  reaching  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  atmosphere,  is  at  once  forced  up  by  reason  of  the  weight  of  air 
which  it  must  rise  to  balance.  The  ascent  of  the  water  takes  place  till  the 
piston  has  reached  the  height  of  nearly  34  feet,  from  which  we  conclude 
that  a  column  of  air  is  equal  in  weight  to  a  column  of  water  of  the  same 
horizontal  section,  and  of  the  height  of  nearly  34  feet.  As  mercury  is  13'6 
tunes  heavier  than  water,  a  mercurial  column  freed  from  atmospheric 
pressure  at  the  one  extremity,  and  subjected  to  it  at  the  other,  is  13'6  time* 
less  in  height  than  the  column  of  water,  or  about  30  inches.  From  the  more 
jonvcaient  size  of  uxio  cclv.r>^n.  mercury  has  been  adopted  as  the  standard 


430       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

for  atmospheric  pressure,  and  is  employed  in  our  ordinary  barometers.  A 
mercurial  column  of  30  inches  in  height,  and  one  square  inch  in  section, 
weighs  15  Ibs.  (more  accurately,  14'73),  which  gives  us  the  equivalent 
weight  of  a  column  of  atmospheric  air  of  the  same  section.  The  word  at- 
mosphere is  often  employed  to  express  this  weight  or  pressure  on  a  square 
inch  of  surface,  so  that  when  we  speak,  in  mechanics,  of  the  pressure  of 
steam  on  a  boiler  as  amounting  to  three  atmospheres,  we  mean  a  pressure 
of  45  Ibs.  on  the  square  inch.  The  pressure  on  a  square  inch  being  thus  as- 
certained, we  have  merely  to  multiply  it  by  the  number  of  square  inches  on 
the  earth's  surface  to  obtain  the  total  weight  of  the  atmosphere.  It  amounts 
to  11-67085  trillions  of  Ibs. 

Recent  chemical  researches  give  the  following  as  the  mean  composition 
of  100  volumes  and  of  100  grains  of  dry  air: 

Volumes.  Grains. 

Nitrogen 79-02  76-84 

Oxygen 20-94  23-10 

Carbonic  acid 0-04  0-06 


100-00  100-00 

Besides  the  substances  just  named,  other  gaseous  matters  occur,  but  in 
quantities  so  small  as  not  sensibly  to  increase  the  bulk  of  the  atmosphere, 
euch  as  ammonia  and  aramoniacal  salts,  carburetted  and  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen, carbonic  oxide,  sulphurous  and  sulphuric  acid,  nitric  acid  and  per- 
haps iodine,  the  quantity  and  even  the  presence  of  which  are  affected  by 
local  and  meteorological  causes.  Eoughly  speaking,  then,  dry  air  may  be 
said  to  consist  of  four  volumes  of  nitrogen,  and  one  of  oxygen,  with  a  slight 
admixture  of  carbonic  acid,  and  a  mere  trace  of  several  other  substances. 
As,  however,  the  air  of  the  atmosphere  is  never  found  dry,  we  must  add  to 
the  constituents  already  named  watery  vapor,  the  amount  of  which  is  con- 
stantly changing,  according  to  locality,  weather,  wind  and  temperature.  It 
is  stated  that  of  1,000  grains  of  atmospheric  air,  the  proportion  due  to  aque- 
ous vapor  varies  from  a  minimum  of  four  to  a  maximum  of  sixteen  grams. 
By  far  the  most  active  chemical  constituent  of  the  atmosphere  is  oxygen,  to 
the  agency  of  which  are  owing  the  existence  of  animal  life,  the  maintenance 
of  combustion,  the  rusting  of  metals,  and  the  occurrence  of  several  other 
chemical  phenomena  too  numerous  to  be  detailed.  The  nitrogen  which 
forms  the  bulk  of  the  atmosphere  possesses  few  chemical  properties  of  im- 
portance, but  performs  the  important  part  of  diluting  the  oxygen,  which,  if 
it  occurred  alone,  would  act  with  too  great  intensity.  The  presence  of  car- 
bonic acid  in  the  air  is  shown  by  the  production  of  the  white  carbonate  of 
lime  in  lime-water  freely  exposed  to  its  influence.  Carbonic  acid  is  pro- 
duced in  all  processes  where  carbonaceous  matter  unites  itself  with  the 
oxygen  of  the  air,  such  as  in  animal  respiration,  in  combustion,  in  fermenta- 
tion, in  putrefaction,  and  similar  processes.  The  green  leaves  of  plants,  on 
the  other  hand,  possess,  in  presence  of  sunshine,  the  power  of  decomposing 
carbonic  acid  into  its  elements,  absorbing  the  carbon  for  their  own  tissues, 
and  restoring  the  oxygen  to  the  atmosphere  in  its  original  purity.  Between 
the  processes  above  mentioned,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  action  of  plants 
on  the  other,  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  air  is  kept  nearly  constant. 
From  the  table  it  will  be  seen  that  10,000  volumes  of  atmospheric  air  con- 
tain four  volumes  of  carbonic  acid.  If  it  occurred  in  a  much  larger  propor- 
tion, being  poisonous,  it  would  become  dangerous  to  animal  life;  and  if  it 
occurred  in  a  much  less  proportion,  the  vegetable  world  would  lack  its 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  431 

requisite  nourishment.  The  other  substances,  of  which  a  trace  is  always  or 
only  sometimes  found  in  atmospheric  air,  are  difficult  to  detect  in  the  air 
itself,  but  are  generally  found  dissolved  in  rain-water,  more  especially  in 
that  which  has  fallen  immediately  after  a  long  drought.  Of  these,  by  far 
the  most  important  and  widely  diffused  are  ammonia  and  aoimoniacal  salts, 
which  are  of  essential  importance  to  the  vegetable  economy,  because,  dis- 
solved in  the  rain,  they  furnish  plants  with  the  nitrogen  required  by  them 
for  the  production  of  their  flowers  and  fruit.  Nitric  acid  is  detected  in  the 
air  after  thunder-storms,  sulphuretted  hydrogen  in  the  tainted  air  of  sewers 
and  such  like  places,  and  sulphurous  and  sulphuric  acid  only  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  chemical  or  smelting  works.  A  considerable  quantity  of  car- 
bonic oxide  and  carburretted  hydrogen  escapes  unconsumed  from  our  fur- 
naces; and  although  the  latter  gas  is  in  addition  given  off  to  the  air  in 
marshy  and  bituminous  districts,  the  two  occur  in  almost  inappreciable 
quantity  in  the  atmosphere. 

In  addition  to  its  gaseous  constituents,  the  atmosphere  contains  solM 
substances  in  a  state  of  exceedingly  fine  division,  the  presence  of  which  i» 
revealed  in  the  sunbeam.  Many  of  these  minute  particles,  being  the  seeds 
or  germs  of  plants  and  animals,  must  exert  an  important  influence  on  the 
organic  substances  on  which  they  may  finally  settle,  inducing  in  many  o* 
them  the  conditions  of  disease  or  putrefaction. 

Water. — in  a  state  of  purity,  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  air , 
*ater  is  a  clear,  colorless,  transparent  liquid,  perfectly  neutral  in  its  reac> 
tion,  and  devoid  of  taste  or  smell.  At  a  temperature  below  32°  it  freezes, 
crystallizing  in  various  forms  derived  from  the  rhombohedron  and  six-aider' i 
prism.  It  appears  from  the  researches  of  Arago  and  Fresnel,  that  notwitb.  • 
standing  the  gradual  dilatation  of  water  below  39°,  its  refractive  power  on 
light  continues  to  increase  regularly,  as  though  it  contracted.  Its  density 
at  60°,  and  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  taken  at  TOGO,  and  forms  the  standard 
of  comparison  for  all  solids  and  liquids,  hydrogen  being  similarly  taken  an 
the  standard  of  comparison  for  gases  and  vapors.  Distilled  water  is  81?» 
times  heavier  than  air;  a  cubic  inch  weighs,  in  air  at  62°,  with  the  barometer 
at  thirty  inches,  252-458  grams,  and  in  vacua,  252*722  grains,  the  grain  being 
1-7000  of  the  avoirdupois  pound.  For  all  practical  purposes,  water  may  bo 
•considered  as  incompressible;  but  very  accurate  experiments  have  shown 
that  it  does  yield  to  a  slight  extent  when  the  pressure  employed  is  very 
great;  the  diminution  of  volume  for  each  atmosphere  of  pressure  being 
about  fifty-one  millionths  of  the  whole.  Water  evaporates  at  all  tempera- 
tures, and  under  the  ordinary  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  boils  at  212°, 
passing  off  in  the  form  of  steam,  which,  in  its  state  of  greatest  density  a* 
212%  compared  with  air  at  the  same  temperature,  and  with  an  equal  elastic 
force,  has  a  spec.  grav.  of  0'625.  In  this  condition  it  may  be  represented  an 
containing,  in  every  two  volumes,  two  volumes  of  hydrogen  and  one  volumo 
of  oxygen. 

Water  is  the  most  universal  solvent  with  which  the  chemist  is  acquainted, 
and  its  operations  in  this  respect  are  equally  apparent,  although  on  very 
different  scales,  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  and  in  the  laboratory.  This 
solvent  action  is  usually  much  increased  by  heat,  so  that  a  hot  aqueous 
saturated  solution  deposits  a  portion  of  the  dissolved  matter  on  cooling. 
Some  substances  are  so  soluble  in  water,  that  they  extract  its  vapor  from 
tlw  atmosphere  and  dissolve  themselves  hi  it  Moreover,  when  water  is 
heated  in  a  strong  closed  vessel  to  a  temperature  above  that  of  the  ordinary 


482      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNO'WLELGE. 

boiling-point,  212°,  its  solvent  powers  are  much  increased.  All  gases  are 
soluble  in  water,  but  water  dissolves  very  unequal  quantities  of  different 
gases,  and  very  unequal  quantities  of  the  same  gas  at  different  tempera- 
tures. Some  gases  are  so  extremely  soluble  in  this  fluid,  that  it  is  necessary 
to  collect  them  over  mercury.  For  example,  at  32°  one  volume  of  water 
dissolves  somewhat  less  than  l-50th  of  its  volume  of  hydrogen,  and  exactly 
l-50th  of  its  volume  of  nitrogen,  while  it  dissolves  506  and  1,050  volumes  of 
hydrochloric  acid  and  ammonia  gases;  and  while  at  32°  water  dissolves  T8 
times  its  volume  of  carbonic  acid,  it  dissolves  only  half  that  volume  of  the 
gas  at  60°. 

It  is  less  than  a  century  since  the  ancient  view,  that  water  was  one  of  the 
four  elements,  has  ceased  to  be  believed  in.  It  is  now  known  that  it  is  a 
compound  of  oxygen  with  hydrogen  in  the  proportion  of  one  equivalent  of 
each.  Hence  its  symbol  is  HO,  and  its  combining  number  9.  When  con- 
verted into  vapor,  9  grains  of  steam  occupy  the  bulk  of  8  grains  of  oxygen  at 
the  same  temperature;  hence  the  combining  volume  of  aqueous  vapor  is 
equal  to  2,  if  the  combining  volume  of  oxygen  be  taken  as  1. 

Wind — Wind  is  air  in  motion.  All  wind  is  caused,  directly  or  indirect- 
ly, by  changes  of  temperature.  Suppose  the  temperature  of  two  adjacent 
regions  to  become,  from  any  cause,  different,  the  air  of  the  warmer,  being 
lighter,  will  ascend  and  flow  over  on  the  other,  whilst  the  heavier  air  of  the 
colder  region  will  flow  in  below  to  supply  its  place.  Thus,  then,  a  differ- 
ence in  the  temperature  of  the  two  regions  gives  rise  to  two  currents  of  air — 
one  blowing  from  the  colder  to  the  warmer  along  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  the  other,  from  the  warmer  to  the  colder,  in  the  upper  regions  of  the 
atmosphere;  and  these  currents  will  continue  to  blow  till  the  equilibrium 
be  restored. 

Winds  are  classed  into  Constant,  Periodical  and  Variable  Winds. 

The  trade  wind  is  a  constant  wind,  and  is  thus  explained:  When  the  part 
of  the  earth's  surface  which  is  heated  is  a  whole  zone,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
tropics,  a  surface-wind  will  set  in  towards  the  heated  tropical  zone  from 
both  sides,  and  uniting  will  ascend,  and  then  separating,  flow  as  upper 
currents,  in  entirely  opposite  directions.  Hence,  a  surface  current  will  flow 
from  the  higher  latitudes  towards  the  equator,  and  an  upper-current 
towards  the  poles.  If,  then,  the  earth  were  at  rest,  a  north  wind  would 
prevail  in  the  northern  half  of  the  globe,  and  a  south  wind  in  the  southern 
half.  But  these  directions  are  modified  by  the  rotations  of  the  earth  on  its 
axis  from  west  to  east.  In  virtue  of  this  rotation,  objects  on  the  earth's  sur- 
face at  the  equator  are  carried  round  toward  the  east,  at  the  rate  of  17 
miles  a  minute.  But  as  we  recede  from  the  equator,  this  velocity  is  con- 
tinually diminished;  at  lat.  60°  it  is  only  eight  and  one-half  miles  a  minute, 
or  half  of  the  velocity  at  the  equator;  and  at  the  poles  it  is  nothing.  A 
wind,  therefore,  blowing  along  the  earth's  surface  to  the  equator,  is  con- 
stantly arriving  at  places  which  have  a  greater  velocity  than  itself.  Hence, 
the  wind  will  lag  behind,  that  is,  will  come  up  against  places  towards  which 
it  blows,  or  become  an  east  wind.  Since,  then,  the  wind  north  of  the  eqvia- 
tor  is  under  the  influence  of  two  forces— one  drawing  it  south,  the  other 
drawing  it  west — it  will,  by  the  law  of  the  composition  of  forces,  flow  in  an 
intermediate  direction,  that  is,  from  north-east  to  south-west.  Similarly, 
in  the  southern  tropic,  the  wind  will  blow  from  south-east  to  north- 
west. 

Land  and  sea  breezes  are  the  most  general  of  the  periodical  winds 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE. 


433 


These  winds  are  caused  during  the  day,  by  the  land  getting  more  heated 
than  the  sea,  consequently  the  air  over  it  ascends,  and  the  cool  air  from 
the  sea  flows  over  on  the  land  to  supply  its  place;  and  during  night,  by  the 
temperature  of  the  land  falling  below  that  of  the  sea,  and  the  air  becoming 
thereby  heavier  and  denser,  flows  over  the  sea  as  a  land  breeze. 


WIND  CLOUD. 

Variable  winds  depend  on  purely  local  or  temporary  causes,  such  as  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  covered  with  vegetation  or  bare;  the  physical  con- 
figuration of  the  surface,  level  or  mountainous;  the  vicinity  of  the  sea  or 
lakes,  and  the  passage  of  storms.  Storina  are  sudden  and  violent  winds, 
resembling  whirlwinds,  hereafter  treated. 


THE  SIMOON. 


484        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Whirlwinds   and  Waterspouts.— Whirlwinds    seldom     continue 

longer  than  a  minute  at  any  place,  and  sometimes  only  a  few  seconds;  their 

breadth  varies  from  a 
few  yards  to  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  mile;  dur- 
ing their  short  continu- 
ance, the  changes  of  the 
wind  are  sudden  and  vio- 
lent; and  the  barometer 
is  not  observed  to  fall. 
The  direction  of  the 
eddy  of  the  whirlwinds, 
especially  when  the  di- 
ameter is  very  small, 
differs  from  the  rotation 
of  winds  in  a  storm,  in 
that  it  may  take  place 
either  way— right  to  left, 
or  left  to  right — accord- 
ing to  the  direction  of 
the  stronger  of  the  two 
winds  which  give  rise  to 
the  whirlwind.  Thus, 
suppose  it  to  arise  from 
a  north  wind  blowing 

side  by  Bide  with  a  south  wind,  and  to  the  west  of  it,  then,  if  the  north 

wind  be  stronger,  the  whirl  will  be  north,  west,  south,  and  east;  but  it  will 

be  in  a  contrary  direction  if  the  south  wind  be  the  stronger.   Whirlwinds  often ' 

originate  within  the  trop- 
ics during  the  hot  season, 

especially  in  flat  sandy 

deserts;    these    becoming 

unequally  heated   by  the 

sun,  give  rise  to  ascending 

columns  of  heated  ah*.    In 

their    contact   with    each 

other,  the  ascending  cur- 
re  n  t  s  result  hi  eddies, 

which  draw  up  with  them 

large  clouds  of  dust,  and 

the  whole  is  borne  forward 

by  the  wind  that  may  h»p- 

pen  to  be  blowing  at  the 

time.    This  is  the  origin  of 

the    dust   whirlwinds  of 

India.    These  dust-storms 

are  frequent  in  dry  warm 

regions;  and  hi  the  case  of 

the  Simoon,  which  may  be 

regarded  as  a  succession  of 

such  whirlwinds,  they  appear  on  a  scale  of  the  most  appalling  grandeur. 

Extensive  fires,  such  as  the  burning  of  a  prairie,  and  volcanic  eruptions, 

&10o  cause  whirlwinds,  by  the  conflicting  currents  of  heated  air  they  occa- 


WATERSPOUTS. 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  435 

eion;  and  these,  as  well  as  the  whirlwinds  already  mentioned,  are  generally 
accompanied  with  heavy  rains,  hail  and  electrical  displays. 

Waterspouts  are  whirlwinds  occurring  on  the  sea  or  on  lakes.  When 
fully  formed,  they  appear  as  tall  pillars  of  cloud  stretching  from  the  sea  to 
the  sky,  whirling  round  their  axes,  and  exhibiting  the  progressive  move- 
ment of  the  whole  mass  precisely  as  in  the  case  of  the  dust  whirlwind.  The 
soa  at  the  base  of  the  whirling  vortices  is  thrown  into  the  most  violent  com- 
motion, resembling  the  surface  of  water  in  rapid  ebullition.  It  is  a  popular 
fallacy  that  the  water  of  the  sea  is  sucked  up  in  a  solid  mass  by  water- 
spouts, it  being  only  the  spray  from  the  broken  waves  which  is  carried  up. 
Observations  of  the  rain  gauge  conclusively  prove  this. 

Dew. — For  any  assigned  temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  there  is  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  aqueous  vapor  which  it  is  capable  of  holding  in  suspension 
at  a  given  pressure.  Conversely,  for  any  assigned  quantity  of  aqueous 
vapor  held  in  suspension  in  the  atmosphere,  there  is  a  minimum  tempera- 
ture at  which  it  can  remain  so  suspended.  This  minimum  temperature  is 
called  the  dew-point.  During  the  day  time,  especially  if  there  has  been 
sunshine,  a  good  deal  of  aqueous  vapor  is  taken  into  suspension  in  the  at- 
mosphere. If  the  temperature  in-  the  evening  now  falls  below  the  dew- 
point,  which  after  a  hot  and  calm  day  generally  takes  place  about  sunset, 
the  vapor  which  can  be  no  longer  held  in  suspension  is  deposited  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  sometimes  to  be  seen  visibly  falling  in  a  fine  mist.  This 
is  one  form  of  the  phenomenon  of  dew,  but  there  is  another.  The  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  all  things  on  it,  and  especially  the  smooth  surfaces  of  vege- 
table productions,  are  constantly  parting  with  their  heat  by  radiation.  If 
the  sky  is  covered  with  clouds,  the  radiation  sent  back  from  the  clouds 
nearly  supplies  an  equivalent  for  the  heat  thus  parted  with;  but  if  the  sky 
be  clear,  no  equivalent  is  supplied,  and  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  things 
growing  on  it  become  colder  than  the  atmosphere.  If  the  night  also  be 
calm,  the  small  portion  of  air  contiguous  to  any  of  these  surfaces  will  be- 
come cooled  below  the  dew-point,  and  its  moisture  deposited  on  the  surface 
in  the  form  of  dew.  If  this  chilled  temperature  be  below  32°  Fahrenheit  the 
dew  becomes  frozen,  and  is  called  hoar-frost. 

Rain — At  a  given  temperature,  air  is  capable  of  containing  no  more 
than  a  certain  quantity  of  aqueous  vapor  invisibly  dissolved  through  it,  and 
when  this  amount  is  present,  it  is  said  to  be  saturated.  Air  may  at  any 
time  be  brought  to  a  state  of  saturation  by  reducing  its  temperature;  and  if 
it  be  cooled  below  this  point,  the  whole  of  the  vapor  can  now  no  longer  be 
held  in  suspension,  but  a  part  of  it  passing  from  the  gaseous  to  the  liquid 
state,  will  be  deposited  in  dew,  or  float  about  in  the  form  of  clouds.  If  the 
temperature  continues  to  fall,  the  vesicles  of  vapor  that  compose  the  cloud 
will  increase  in  number,  and  begin  to  descend  by  their  own  weight.  The 
largest  of  these  falling  fastest,  will  unite  with  the  smaller  ones  they  en- 
counter in  their  descent,  and  thus  drops  of  rain  will  be  formed  whose  size 
will  depend  on  the  thickness  and  density  of  the  cloud.  The  point  to  which 
the  temperature  of  the  air  must  be  reduced  in  order  to  cause  a  portion  of 
its  vapor  to  form  cloud  or  dew,  is  called  the  dew-point. 

Hence,  the  law  of  aqueous  precipitation  may  be  stated:  Whatever  lowers 
the  temperature  of  the  air  at  any  place  below  the  dew-point,  is  a  cause  ci 
ram.  Various  causes  may  conspire  to  effect  this  object,  but  it  is  chiefly 
brought  about  by  the  ascent  of  the  air  into  the  higher  regions  of  the  atmoa- 


436       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

phere,  by  which,  being  subjected  to  less  pressure,  it  expands,  and  in  doing 
eo,  its  temperature  falls.  Ascending;  currents  are  caused  by  the  heating  of 
the  earth's  surface,  for  then  the  superincumbent  air  is  also  heated  and  con- 
sequently ascends  by  its  levity.  Air  currents  are  forced  up  into  the  higher 
parta  of  the  atmosphere  by  colder,  drier,  and  therefore  heavier  wind  cur- 


BAIN  CLOUD. 


rents  getting  beneath  them,  and  thus  wedgeways  thrusting  them  upwards; 
and  the  same  result  is  accomplished  by  ranges  of  mountains  opposing  their 
masses  to  the  onward  horizontal  course  of  the  winds,  so  that  the  air,  being 
forced  up  their  slopes,  is  cooled,  and  its  vapor  liberated  in  showers  of  rain 
or  snow. 


FAMILIAR    SUIENCE. 


437 


Snow.— Snow  is  the  frozen  moisture  which  falls  from  the  atmosphere 
when  the  temperature  is  32°  or  lower.  It  is  composed  of  crystals,  usually 
in  the  form  of  six-pointed  stars,  of  which  about  1, 000  different  kiuds  have 
been  already  observed,  and  many  of  them  figured.  These  numerous  forms 
have  been  reduced  to  the  following  five  principal  varieties:  1.  Thin  plates, 
the  most  numerous  class,  containing  several  hundred  forms  of  the  rarest 


SNOW  CLOUD. 

and  most  exqi:isite  beauty.  2.  A  spherical  nucleus  or  plane  figure  studded 
with  needle-shaped  crystals.  8.  Six  or  more  rarely  three-sided  prismatic 
crystals.  4.  Pyramids  of  six  sides.  5.  Prismatic  crystals,  having  at  the 
ends  and  middle  thin  plates  perpendicular  to  their  length.  The  forma  of 
the  crystals  in  the  same  fall  of  snow  are  generally  similar  to  each  other. 
The  crystals  of  hoar-frost  being  formed  on  leaves  and  other  bodies  disturb- 


438       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

ing  the  temperature,  are  often  irregular  and  opaque;  and  it  has  been  ob- 
served that  each  tree  or  shrub  has  its  own  peculiar  crystals.  Snow-flakes 
vary  from  an  inch  to  7-lOOths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  the  largest  occurring 
when  the  temperature  is  near  32°,  and  the  smallest  at  very  low  tempera- 
tures. As  air  has  a  smaller  capacity  for  retaining  its  vapor  as  the  tempera- 
ture sinks,  it  follows  that  the  aqueous  precipitation,  enow  or  rain,  is  much 
less  in  polar  than  in  temperate  regions.  The  white  color  of  snow  is  the 
result  of  the  combination  of  the  different  prismatic  rays  issuing  from  the 
minute  snow  crystals.  Pounded  glass  and  foam  are  analogous  cases  of  the 
prismatic  colors  blending  together  and  forming  the  white  light  out  of  which 
they  had  been  originally  formed.  It  may  be  added  that  the  air  contained  in 
the  crystals  intensifies  the  whiteness  of  the  snow.  It  is  from  ten  to  twelve 
times  lighter  than  an  equal  bulk  of  water.  From  its  loose  texture,  and  its 
containing  about  ten  times  its  bulk  of  air,  it  ia  a  very  bad  conductor  of  heat, 
and  thus  forms  an  admirable  covering  for  the  earth  from  the  effects  of  radia- 


SNOW  CBYSTALS. 

tion— it  not  unfrequently  happening,  in  times  of  great  cold,  that  the  soil  is 
40°  warmer  than  the  surface  of  the  overlying  snow. 

Hail.-  The  word  hail,  in  English,  is  unfortunately  used  to  denote  two 
phenomena  of  apparently  different  origin.  In  French,  we  have  the  terms 
grale  and  grestl — the  former  of  which  is  hail  proper;  the  latter  denotes  the 
fine  grains,  like  small  shot,  which  often  fall  in  winter,  much  more  rarely  in 
summer,  and  generally  precede  snow.  The  cause  of  the  latter  seems  to  be 
simply  the  freezing  of  rain  drops  as  they  pass  in  their  fall  through  a  colder 
region  of  air  than  that  where  they  originated.  We  know  by  balloon  ascents 
and  various  other  methods  of  observation,  that  even  in  calm  weather  differ- 
ent strata  of  the  atmosphere  have  extremely  different  temperatures,  a 
stratum  far  under  the  freezing  point  being  often  observed  between  two 
others  comparatively  warm. 

But  that  true  hail,  though  the  process  of  its  formation  is  not  yet  perfectly 
understood,  depends  mainly  upon  the  meeting  of  two  nearly  opposite  cur- 
rents of  air — one  hot  and  saturated  with  vapor,  the  other  very  cold — 
is  rendered  pretty  certain  by  such  facts  as  the  following:  A  hailstorm  is 
generally  a  merely  local  phenomenon,  or  at  most,  ravages  a  belt  of  land  of 
no  great  breadth,  though  it  may  be  of  considerable  length.  Hailstorms 
occur  in  the  greatest  perfection  in  the  warmest  season,  and  at  the  warmest 
period  of  the  day,  and  generally  are  most  severe  in  the  most  tropical 
climates.  A  fall  of  hail  generally  precedes,  sometimes  accompanies,  and 
rarely,  if  ever,  follows  a  thunder  shower.  A  common  idea,  which  baa  found 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  439 

its  way,  as  many  popular  prejudices  continually  do,  into  scientific  treatises, 
assigns  electricity  as  the  origin  of  hail.  But  all  obseivation,  rightly  inter- 
preted, seems  to  show  that  electricity  and  hail  are  results  of  the  same  com- 
bination of  causes. 

When  a  mass  of  air,  saturated  with  vapor,  rising  to  a  higher  level,  meets 
a  cold  one,  there  is,  of  course,  instant  condensation  of  vapor  into  ice  by  the 
cold  due  to  expansion;  at  the  same  time,  there  is  generally  a  rapid  produc- 
tion of  electricity,  the  effect  of  which  upon  such  light  masses  as  small  hail- 
stones is  to  give  them  in  general  rapid  motion  in  various  directions  succes- 
sively. These  motions  are  in  addition  to  the  vortex  motions  or  eddies, 
caused  in  the  air  by  the  meeting  of  the  rising  and  descending  currents.  The 
small  ice-masses  then  moving  in  all  directions  impinge  upon  each  other 
sometimes  with  great  force,  producing  that  peculiar  rattling  sound  which 
almost  invariably  precedes  a  hail  shower.  At  the  same  time,  by  a  well 
known  property  of  ice  (Regelation),  the  impinging  masses  are  frozen  to- 
gether; and  this  process  continues  until  the  weight  of  the  accumulated  mass 
enables  it  to  overcome  the  vortices  and  the  electrical  attractions,  when  it 
falls  as  a  larger  or  smaller  hailstone.  On  examining  such  hailstones,  which 
may  have  any  size  from  that  of  a  pea  to  that  of  a  walnut,  or  even  an  orange, 
we  at  once  recognize  the  composite  character  which  might  be  expected  from 
such  a  mode  of  aggregation.  Hailstones  are  reported  to  have  fallen  in 
tropical  countries  sometimes  as  large  as  a  sheep,  sometimes  as  large  as  an 
ox,  or  even  an  elephant  I  But  it  is  probable  that  the  aggregation  in  these 
cases  was  produced  by  regelation  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  when  a  series 
of  large  masses  had  impinged  on  each  other,  having  fallen  successively  on 
the  same  spot.  Whether  this  be  the  true  explanation  or  no,  it  is  certain  that 
in  British  India,  at  the  warmest  season,  hailstones  have  remained  of  con- 
siderable size  for  many  days  after  their  fall. 

The  Tides — It  has  long  been  admitted  that  the  tides,  or  the  flowing 
and  ebbing  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  is  caused  by  the  moon;  but  this  gen- 
eral theory  admits  of  some  modifications,  or  explanations.  The  attractive 
power  of  the  sun  is  felt  by  the  ocean;  and  high  winds  serve  to  increase  or 
retard  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  sea.  The  relative  distances  of  the  moon,  at 
different  times,  are  also  to  be  considered,  in  accounting  for  different  heights 
of  the  tides.  The  sun  and  moon  exert  an  influence  on  our  globe,  by  attrac- 
tion, which  is  found  to  exist  in  all  bodies.  The  force  of  this  attraction,  in 
such  large  bodies  of  matter  as  the  sun  and  moon,  is  very  great.  The  sun 
being  far  the  largest  of  these  bodies,  would  attract  the  earth  in  a  mnch 
greater  degree  than  the  moon  does,  except  that  the  latter  is  but  a  small 
distance  from  our  globe,  compared  to  the  sun.  When  the  sun  and  moon  are 
in  the  same  line,  as  to  the  earth,  their  combined  influence  is  greater  than 
that  of  either  separate.  And  when  the  moon  is  at  her  quarter,  as  it  is 
called,  or  farthest  from  the  line  from  the  sun  to  the  earth,  then  the  influence 
of  the  moon  on  the  earth  is  less  than  in  a  different  position.  And  then  the 
tides  do  not  flow  BO  high,  or  are  not  so  powerfully  attracted  by  the  moon; 
the  attraction  of  the  sun  being  to  a  different  direction,  or  at  a  different  part 
of  the  earth  (for  the  attraction  is  perpendicular,  or  operates  in  straight 
lines). 

The  tyro  is  ready  to  ask,  how  there  are  two  high  tides  in  twenty-four 
hours.  He  sees  by  the  above  theory,  that  when  the  moon  is  at  the  meridian 
of  any  place  (or  rather  a  little  later,  unless  other  causes  are  in  operation), 
the  waters  rise  to  the  highest,  at  such  place,  by  the  moon's  attraction.  Bat 


440       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  difficulty  is,  as  to  another  high  tide  directly  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
earth.  The  moon  attracts  the  earth,  as  well  as  the  ocean,  though  not  with 
so  great  apparent  effect.  The  water  of  the  sea  is  more  easily  affected. 
The  whole  earth  is  attracted  by  the  moon;  and  thus  the  water  of  the  ocean 
farthest  from  the  moon,  or  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  earth,  is  drawn 
towards  the  moon,  and  leaves  the  water  less  attracted;  which,  in  effect  and 
appearance,  rises  higher,  than  in  a  state,  where  no  attraction  was  felt  on  the 
earth  or  ocean.  Thus  there  is  a  high  tide  on  the  side  of  the  earth  opposite 
to  the  moon,  as  well  on  the  side  next  the  moon,  and  nearly  where  the  moon 
is  in  the  meridian.  In  the  one  case,  the  water  is  attracted  (being  lighter 
than  the  earth)  towards  the  moon,  and  rises  to  the  highest  point;  and  in 
the  other,  the  whole  earth  is  attracted  towards  the  moon,  and  the  water 
opposite  to  and  farthest  from  the  moon  is  left  behind  (as  it  were)  and  rises 
higher,  compared  to  the  earth  near  it,  than  it  would  otherwise  appear. 

But  there  are  other  considerations  to  be  noticed  in  explaining  the  phe- 
nomenon of  the  tides.  We  have  said  that  the  highest  tides  happen  at  the 
new  and  full  moon,  when  the  sun  and  moon  are  in  a  line  with  the  earth; 
but  the  waters  do  not  yield  instantly  to  the  action  exerted  upon  them,  nor 
cease  their  motion  caused  by  the  attraction  of  the  moon,  at  the  moment  the 
moon  is  in  the  meridian;  the  influence  exerted  continues  to  operate,  or  the 
effect  continues.  Thus  the  spring  tides  occur  about  a  day  and  a  half  after 
the  time  indicated.  For  a  similar  reason,  the  real  time  of  high  water,  in 
daily  tides,  occurs  nearly  three  hours  after  the  moon  passes  the  meridian. 
The  motion  given  to  the  waters  of  the  ocean  by  the  attraction  of  the  moon, 
continues  after  the  attraction  has  operated.  An  impetus  is  given  which 
causes  the  water  to  move  for  some  time  after  the  cause  of  the  motion  ceases. 
This  is  agreeable  to  the  general  laws  of  matter  and  motion. 

Pliny  noticed  the  phenomenon  of  the  tides  eighteen  centuries  ago,  and 
considered  the  cause  to  be  the  attraction  of  the  sun  and  moon.  Galileo  and 
Kepler  wrote  on  the  subject  three  hundred  years  since,  and  Newton  after- 
wards. His  theory  is  generally  adopted,  and  he  shows  that  in  a  system  of 
three  bodies,  the  motion  of  one  about  another,  and  relative  to  the  latter,  is 
disturbed  and  irregularities  produced,  by  the  difference  of  the  attractive 
forces  of  the  sun  on  the  earth  and  moon. 

Earthquakes — The  term  earthquake  is  that  which  is  applied  to  any 
tremor  or  shaking  of  the  solid  crust  of  the  earth.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
surface  of  the  globe  is  never  free  from  sensible  evidence  of  the  continued 
operation  of  earthquake  agency — that  in  some  quarter  or  another  tremors 
or  slight  shakings  are  always  taking  place.  When  these  are  of  a  serious 
nature,  whole  cities  have  been  destroyed;  fertile  districts,  with  all  their 
fruit  and  grain,  have  been  laid  waste;  and  enormous  masses  of  human 
beings  have  lost  their  lives.  No  less  than  60,000  perished  in  the  great  Lis- 
bon earthquake;  while  in  that  of  Calabria,  in  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
40,000  were  destroyed.  It  is  estimated  that  as  many  as  13,000,000  of  the 
human  race  have  thus  perished. 

No  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  is  exempt  from  the  influence  of  earth- 
quakes. Nor  is  the  bed  of  the  ocean  exempt;  records  of  many  subaqueous 
earthquakes  exist,  taken  by  vessels  at  sea,  sometimes  passing  over  the 
point  of  greatest  disturbance  at  the  moment  of  the  shock.  In  like  manner 
earthquakes  have  been  active  at  every  period  of  the  earth's  existence,  break- 
ing up  its  solid  crust,  elevating  or  depressing  its  surface,  and  doing  as  much 
as  any  other  single  agent  to  bring  ^t  into  it*  present  condition.  They  hava 

aw 


FAMILIAR    SCIENCE.  441 

been  probably  at  some  periods  more  active  than  at  others,  just  as  we  find 
that  some  districts  are  now  more  liable  than  others  to  their  visitation. 

The  phenomena  connected  with  earthquakes  have  been  variously  de- 
scribed. Many  writers  refer  to  appearances  in  the  heavens,  or  changes  in 
the  atmosphere,  which  to  them  seem  to  have  some  connection  with  the  ca- 
tastrophes they  narrate.  They  tell  of  irregularities  in  the  seasons  preceding 
or  following  the  shock,  of  sudden  gusta  of  wind  interrupted  by  sudden 
calms,  of  violent  rains  at  unusual  seasons,  or  in  countries  where  such  phe- 
nomena are  almost  unknown,  of  a  reddening  of  the  sun's  disc,  of  a  haziness 
in  the  air  often  continued  for  mouths,  and  similar  phenomena.  But  these 
are  so  irregular  in  their  appearance,  and  have  been  BO  seldom  observed 
associated  with  more  than  a  single  earthquake,  that,  in  the  absence  of  any 
decided  reason  to  the  contrary,  there  seem  good  grounds  for  believing  they 
have  no  real  connection  with  the  earthquake.  It  is  different  with  under- 
ground noises,  which  frequently  precede,  accompany,  or  succeed  the  occur- 
rence of  earthquakes,  or  some  of  the  shocks  of  them.  They  are  undoubt- 
edly intimately  connected  with  the  shock,  yet  earthquakes  occur,  even  of 
the  greatest  violence,  which  are  unaccompanied  by  any  sound  whatever. 
Different  descriptions  have  been  given  of  these  subterranean  noises.  In 
some  earthquakes,  they  are  likened  to  chains  pulled  about,  increasing  to 
thunder;  in  others,  the  sound  is  like  the  rumbling  of  carriages,  growing 
gradually  louder,  until  it  equals  the  loudest  artillery;  or  like  heavy  wagons 
running  away  upon  a  road;  or  distant  thunder;  or  like  the  hissing  produced 
by  the  quenching  of  masses  of  red-hot  iron  in  water. 

All  theorists  are  agreed  as  to  the  connection  between  volcanoes  and 
earthquakes;  that  they  are  produced  by  the  same  subterranean  agency. 
The  existence  of  molten  matter  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  is  the  starting- 
point  in  all  theories,  but  a  complete  and  satisfactory  solution  of  the  entire 
problem  yet  remains  to  be  given. 

Whirlpools. — A  whirlpool  is  a  circular  current  in  a  river  or  sea,  pro- 
duced by  opposing  tides,  winds,  or  currents.  It  is  a  phenomenon  of  rare 
occurrence  on  a  large  scale,  but  illustrations  in  miniature  may  be  noticed 
in  the  eddies  formed  in  a  river  by  means  of  obstacles  or  deflections.  The 
Maelstrom,  the  most  famous  whirlpool  in  the  world,  is  situated  on  the  Nor- 
wegian coast,  between  Moskoe  and  Moskenas,  two  of  the  Loffoden  Isles. 
The  tremendous  current  that  rushes  between  the  Great  West  Fjord  and  the 
outer  ocean,  through  the  channels  between  the  Loffoden  Isles,  creates 
many  other  dangerous  currents,  such  as  the  Galstrom,  Napstrom,  etc.;  but 
these  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  famous  Maelstrom.  The  current  runs 
for  six  hours  from  north  to  south,  and  then  six  hours  from  south  to  north, 
producing  immense  whirls.  The  depth  of  the  water  has  been  ascertained 
to  be  about  20  fathoms,  while  immedi  ately  to  the  west  of  the  straits  the 
soundings  are  from  100  to  200  fathoms.  The  whirlpool  is  greatest  at  high 
or  low  water;  and  when  the  wind  blows  directly  against  the  current,  it  be- 
comes extremely  dangerous,  the  whole  sea  for  several  miles  around  being 
so  violently  agitated  that  no  boat  can  live  in  it  for  a  moment.  In  ordinary 
circumstances,  it  may  be  traversed  even  across  the  center  without  appre- 
hension. The  stories  of  ships,  whales,  etc.,  being  swallowed  up  in  the  vor- 
tex, are  simply  fables;  at  the  same  time,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  ship, 
once  fairly  under  the  influence  of  the  current,  would  certainly  either  founder 
or  be  dashed  upon  the  rocks,  and  whales  have  often  been  found  stranded 
on  the  Flagstadt  coast  from  the  same  cause- 


LAW    FOR    THE    MASSES. 


[This  department  is  made  np  of  a  series  of  extracts,  republishea  oy  permission 
of  the  publisher,  from  a  valuable  and  comprehensive  work  entitled  "  How  TO  BE 
YOUR  OWN  LAWYER,"  a  complete  instructor  for  everybody  in  all  the  ordinary 
legal  affairs  of  life,  adapted  to  every  State  and  Territory.  The  book  is  a  large 
12mo  of  more  than  500  pages,  neatly  bound  in  cloth.  Its  price  is  $1.50,  and  it  is 
published  by  M.  T.  RICHARDSON,  Nos.  21  to  27  New  Chambers  St.,  New  York.] 


Bonds. — A  bond  is  any  writing  under  seal  in  which  a  debt  or  obligation 
is  acknowledged,  or  in  which  the  maker  shows  that  he  intends  to  bind  him- 
self to  the  payment  of  a  fixed  sum  of  money. 

The  person  making  a  bond  is  called  the  obligor. 

The  person  to  whom  it  ia  made  is  called  the  obligee. 

No  particular  words  are  required,  provided  the  intention  of  the  parties 
can  be  learned  from  the  instrument. 

The  words  "Held  and  firmly  obliged  "  are  usually  used. 

The  obligor  has  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  in  all  cases  where  the  intention 
of  the  parties  is  not  clear,  as  the  condition  of  the  bond  is  considered  the 
agreement  and  assent  of  the  obligee  and  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  obligor. 

No  immaterial  alteration  of  a  bond  would  make  it  void,  but  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  make  no  alterations  after  it  has  been  signed  and  sealed,  as  it  might 
give  rise  to  a  suit. 

Many  suits  arise  from  the  difficulty  in  deciding  whether  the  sum  men- 
tioned in  the  condition  of  the  bond  is  to  be  considered  "  a  penalty "  or 
"  liquidated  damages."  If  it  is  regarded  as  a  penalty,  the  court  will  re- 
duce it  to  the  actual  amount  of  damages  suffered;  but  if  it  is  regarded  as 
liquidated  damages  (damages  which  have  been  agreed  upon  at  the  time  of 
drawing  the  bond),  the  court  will  not  interfere  if  the  sum  named  is  not  ex- 
cessive, but  will  allow  full  payment  to  be  enforced. 

If  the  amount  is  to  be  a  penalty,  the  words  "  penalty  or  forfeit"  should 
be  used;  but  if  liquidated  damages  are  intended,  it  should  be  stated  that 
the  parties  have  agreed  to  consider  the  sum  mentioned  in  the  condition  as 
liquidated  damages,  and  all  words  such  as  "  penalty  "  and  "  forfeiture  "  or 
any  reference  to  them,  should  be  omitted. 

The  intention  of  the  parties  as  to  whether  it  was  intended  to  be  consid- 
ered as  a  penalty  or  liquidated  damages,  even  though  either  term  is  used, 
is  to  be  learned  from  the  surrounding  circumstances  and  the  bond  itself. 

The  first  part  of  the  bond  is  considered  the  obligatory  part,  and  is  ex- 
plained by  the  condition. 

A  bond  being  under  seal  is  not  barred  by  the  Statute  of  Limitations  until 
the  lapse  of  twenty  years. 

The  surety  to  a  bond  is  under  the  same  obligation  to  the  obligee  as  is 
the  obligor.  If  any  alteration  is  made  in  the  instrument  without  the  knowl- 
edge or  consent  of  the  surety,  he  will  be  freed  from  his  liability. 

A  bond  should  be  entirely  finished  before  execution  and  delivery. 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  443 

If  a  surety  does  not  wish  to  be  bound  unless  some  other  person  or  per- 
sons sign,  he  should  state  that  he  executed  it  on  this  condition;  the  bond 
should  make  mention  of  this  fact. 

A  bond  will  be  considered  valid  when  it  conforms  substantially  to  what 
is  required  by  the  statues,  and  does  not  vary  in  any  manner  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  person  for  whose  benefit  it  is  to  bo  given. 

1.— COMMON  FOBM  OP  BOND  FOB  PAYMENT  OF  MONET. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  A.  B.,  of  the  town  of  ,  in  the 
county  of  ,  and  State  of  ,  am  held  and  firmly  bound  unto  C.  D.,  of 
the  said  town,  in  the  sum  of  dollars  [inserting  the  penal  sum,  which  is 
commonly  double  the  amount  of  the  principal  sum  intended  to  be  secured], 
lawful  money  of  the  United  States,  to  bo  paid  the  said  C.  D.,  his  executors, 
administrators,  or  assigns,  ior  which  payment  well  and  truly  to  be  made  I  do 
bind  myself,  my  heirs,  executors,  and  administrators,  firmly  by  these  presents. 

Sealed  with  my  seal,  and  dated  the       day  of          ,  18    . 

The  condition  of  this  obligation  is  such,  that  if  the  above  bounden  A.  B., 
his  heirs,  executors,  and  administrators,  or  any  of  them,  shall  well  and 
truly  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid,  unto  the  above-named  C.  D.,  his  executors, 
administrators,  or  assigns,  the  just  and  full  sum  of  dollars  [insect  the 
principal  to  be  secured],  with  interest  thereon  at  the  rate  of  per  cent, 
per  annum,  on  the  day  of  ,  which  will  be  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  ,  without  any  fraud  or  other  delay,"  then  this  obligation  ia 
to  be  void,  otherwise  to  remain  ia  full  force  and  virtue.f 

A.  B.  [Seal.] 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Names  of  witnesses.] 

2. — BOND  WITH   INTEBEST  CLAUSE  GIVEN  WITH  A  MOBTGAGE. 

[Use  Form  1  as  far  as  t>  then  as  follows:] 

And  it  is  hereby  expressly  agreed,  that,  should  any  default  be  made  in 
the  payment  of  the  said  interest,  or  of  any  part  thereof,  on  any  day  where- 
on the  same  is  made  payable,  as  above  expressed,  and  should  the  same  re- 
main unpaid  and  in  arrear  for  the  space  of  days,  then  and  from  thence- 
forth—that is  to  say.  after  the  lapse  of  the  said  days— the  aforesaid 
principal  sum  of  dollars,  with  all  arrearage  of  interest  thereon,  shall,  at 
the  option  of  the  said  C.  D.,  or  his  executors,  administrators,  or  assigns,  be- 
come and  be  due  and  payable  immediately  thereafter,  although  the  period 
first  above  limited  for  the  payment  thereof  may  not  then  have  expired,  any- 
thing hereinbefore  contained  to  the  contrary  thereof  in  anywise  notwith- 
standing. 

A.  B.  [Seal.] 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Nameu  of  witnesses.] 

3. — BOND  WITH  INSTJBANCE  CLAUSE. 

[Use  Form  1  as  far  as  f,  then  as  follows:] 

And  it  is  expressly  agreed  by  and  between  A.  B.  and  C.  D.,  the  parties 
to  these  presents,  that  the  said  A.  B.  shall  and  will  keep  the  buildings 
erected  and  to  be  erected  upon  the  lands  above  conveyed,  insured  against 
loss  and  damage  by  fire,  by  insurers,  and  in  an  amount  approved  by  the 
said  C.  D.,  and  assign  the  policy  and  certificates  thereof  to  the  said  C.  D.; 
and  in  default  thereof,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  C.  D.  to  effect  such  in- 
surance, and  the  premium  and  premiums  paid  for  effecting  the  same  shall 
be  a  lien  on  the  said  mortgaged  premises,  added  to  the  amount  of  the  said 
bond  or  obligation,  and  secured  by  these  presents,  and  payable  on  demand 
with  interest  at  the  rate  of  per  cent,  per  annum. 

In  witness  whereof  the  said  A.  B.  has  hereunto  set  his  hand  and  seal 
this  day  of  ,  18  . 

[Signature.]    [Seal.] 


Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Signature  of  witness.] 


444      GTGLOPMD1A    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE 

Mortgages. — A  mortgage  is  a  conveyance  of  an  estate  or  property  by 
way  of  pledge  for  the  security  of  a  debt,  and  to  become  void  on  the  pay- 
ment of  it.  A  mortgage  of  real  property  is  one  form  of  a  lien  upon  it  to 
secure  the  performance  of  some  obligation,  generally  the  payment  of  money. 
All  kinda  of  personal  and  real  property  which  are  capable  of  absolute 
sale  may  be  the  subject  of  a  mortgage. 

Any  conveyance  of  land  intended  by  the  parties  at  the  time  of  making  it 
to  bo  security  for  the  payment  of  money  or  the  doing  of  some  specified  act, 
is  a  mortgage. 

Mortgages  are  oi  two  kinds,  legal  and  equitable. 

A  legal  mortgage  is  in  form  a  deed  of  land  with  a  condition  that  if  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money  be  paid,  or  services  be  rendered,  the  deed  shall  be  void. 
The  condition  ia  called  the  defeasance. 

An  equitable  mortgage  is  a-lien  upon  real  estate  of  such  a  character  that 
it  is  recognized  in  equity  as  a  security  for  the  payment  of  money,  and  is 
treated  as  a  mortgage.  Such  a  mortgage  may  arise  by  a  deposit  of  the  title 
deeds,  and  by  an  agreement  to  execute  a  mortgage,  by  proof  that  a  deed, 
absolute  on  its  face,  was  intended  as  a  mortgage.  The  lien  of  vendor  for 
unpaid  purchase  money  is  also  an  equitable  mortgage. 

The  mortgage  should  have  all  the  requisites  of  a  deed;  that  is,  it  should 
be  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered. 

It  should  bo  witnessed,  acknowledged,  and  recorded.  The  mortgage  is 
security  for  the  payment  of  money.  The  debt  for  which  the  mortgage  is 
given  is  the  principal  thing;  consequently,  if  the  debt  is  sold,  the  mortgage 
passes  with  it 

The  party  giving  the  mortgage  is  called  the  mortgagor;  he  to  whom  it  is 
given  the  mortgagee. 

A  power  of  sale,  in  case  of  default  in  payment  of  interest  or  an  instalment, 
is  usually  inserted,  which  enables  the  mortgagee  to  enforce  payment. 

Mortgages  ai-e  made  with  or  without  a  personal  promise  to  pay  the  debt. 
Where  no  personal  promise  in  writing  is  made,  the  mortgagor  is  not  person- 
ally liable  for  the  sum  secured;  the  mortgage  being  in  such  case  only  a  lien 
on  the  land. 

Mortgages  are  frequently  made  to  secure  a  contingent  liability  or  future 
advances.  A  mortgage  given  for  such  purpose  should  state  that  fact. 

A  covenant  is  usually  inserted  in  a  mortgage  to  pay  the  debt,  and  a  bond 
or  note  is  given  for  it,  which  fact  is  mentioned  in  the  mortgage,  and  it  is 
stated  in  the  mortgage  that  it  is  given  in  addition  to  the  personal  security. 
It  is  common  to  provide,  in  case  buildings  are  on  the  promisee,  that  the 
mortgagor  shall  keep  them  insured  and  assign  the  policy  to  the  mortgagee. 
It  is  usual  also  to  insert  what  is  called  an  interest  clause,  which  states  that 
if  interest  remains  unpaid  for  a  certain  mimber  of  days  after  it  falls  due,  the 
mortgagee  may  elect  to  require  payment  of  the  principal  at  once. 

For  the  better  security  of  the  mortgagee,  ho  should  require  the  wife  of 
the  mortgagor  to  join  in  the  execution  of  the  mortgage.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  the  wife  of  the  mortgagor  join  in  the  execution  of  a  mortgage  for  the 
purchase  money.  Mortgages  should  be  acknowledged  or  proved  the  same 
SB  deeds  in  order  to  be  recorded. 

The  mortgage  can  be  assigned.    The  assignee  then  stands  in  the  position 

of  tbe  mortgagee.    The  assignee  of  the  mortgage  should  get  a  statement 

from  the  mortgagor  as  to  the  validity  of  the  mortgage  and  the  amount  due. 

The  assignee  should  give  notice  of  the  assignment  to  the  mortgagor,  and 

should  record  his  assignment.    If  the  mortgagor  should  make  two  assign- 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  445 

ments,  the  first  recorded,  if  taken  without  knowledge  of  the  previous  assign- 
ment, would  have  the  preference.  The  assignee  may  himself  assign.  A 
mortgage  may  be  discharged  by  a  release  of  the  debt;  by  payment  of  the 
debt,  by  a  tender  of  the  mortgage  debt  on  the  day  that  it  is  due,  even  though 
the  money  is  not  accepted,  by  the  holder  of  the  mortgage  acquiring  title  to 
the  property,  by  the  expiration  of  twenty  years  from  the  time  the  mortgage 
is  due  or  from  the  time  of  last  payment. 

The  mortgagor  on  payment  of  the  mortgage  should  obtain  a  satisfaction 
piece  from  the  mortgagee  and  have  it  recorded. 

If  a  mortgagor  places  two  mortgages  on  the  same  property,  the  first  re- 
corded, if  taken  without  knowledge  of  the  previous  mortgage,  would  have 
the  preference.  For  example:  If  A  mortgages  his  property  to  B,  and  subse- 
quently mortgages  the  same  property  to  C,  who,  without  knowledge  of  the 
previous  mortgage,  records  his  mortgage,  C's  lien  on  the  property  will  be 
prior  to  that  of  B. 

The  mortgagor  usually  pays  for  drawing  the  mortgage  and  searching  the 
title.  The  mortgagee  should  have  the  mortgage  recorded  immediately  after 
the  execution  and  delivery  of  it. 

Gtiattel  Mortgage— A.  chattel  mortgage  is  a  mortgage  of  personal  property. 
It  is  a  transfer  of  the  title  to  chattels,  and  is  given  as  security  for  a  debt  or 
liability. 

It  is  given  upon  condition  that  the  transfer  shall  be  void  if  the  debt  is 
paid  or  discharged.  If  the  mortgagor  makes  default  in  the  payment  of  the 
debt  at  the  time  agreed  upon,  the  mortgagee  becomes  the  absolute  owner, 
and  may  take  possession  of  the  property.  The  mortgagor  has  a  right  to 
redeem  the  property  unless  there  has  been  a  sale,  in  which  case  the  right 
ia  lost. 

The  mortgage  states  the  liability  or  the  debt  to  be  secured.  The  prop- 
erty mortgaged  should  be  so  described  as  to  enable  it  to  be  identified.  It 
is  usual  to  insert  a  description  of  the  property  in  the  schedule  annexed,  and 
referred  to  hi  the  mortgage.  The  property  generally  remains  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  mortgagor  until  default  in  payment  of  the  debt. 

The  mortgagee,  for  his  own  protection,  should  file  his  mortgage  if  the 
mortgagor  retains  possesdion  of  the  property.  If  he  fails  to  file  his  mort- 
gage, and  the  mortgagee  subsequently  sells  or  mortgages  the  same  prop- 
erty to  another,  who  is  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  the  previous  mortgage, 
he  loses  his  lien  on  the  property.  The  mortgage,  or  a  true  copy  thereof, 
must  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  town  where  the  mortgagor  re- 
sides. If  the  mortgagor  is  out  of  the  State  it  should  be  filed  with  the  clerk 
of  the  town  where  the  property  is  located. 

In  Now  York  every  mortgage  ceases  to  be  valid  ae  against  creditors  or 
subsequent  purchasers,  or  mortgagees  in  good  faith,  after  the  expiration  of 
one  year  from  the  filing  thereof,  unless  within  thirty  days  next  preceding 
the  expiration  of  the  said  term  of  one  year,  a  true  copy  of  such  mortgage, 
together  with  a  statement  exhibiting  the  interest  of  the  mortgagee  in  the 
property  thereby  claimed  by  him  by  virtue  thereof,  is  filed  in  the  office  of 
the  clerk  of  the  town  where  the  mortgagor  shall  then  reside. 

SHOKT  FOKM  OF    MORTGAGE. 

This  indenture,  made  the  day  of  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  between  A.  B.,  of  in  the  county  of  and  State 

of  of  the  first  part,  and  C.  D.,  of  in  the  said  county,  of  the  sec- 

ond part,  wimesseth:  That  the  said  party  of  the  first  part,  for  and  in  con- 


446       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

eidoration  of  the  sum  of  dollars,  grants,  bargains,  sells,  and  confirms 

unto  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  and  to  his  heirs  and  assigns,  all 
[here  insert  description],  together  with  all  and  singular  the  hereditaments 
and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining.  This 
conveyance  is  intended  as  a  mortgage,  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  sum 
of  dollars,  in  [here  state  terms  of  payment],  according  to  the  condi- 

tion of  a  certain  bond,  dated  this  day,  and  executed  by  the  said  party  of  the 
first  part  to  the  said  party  of  the  second  part;  and  these  presents  shall  be 
void  if  such  payment  be  made.  But  in  ca8e  default  shall  bo  made  in  the 
payment  of  the  principal  or  interest,  as  above  provided,  then  the  party  of 
the  second  part,  his  executors,  administrators,  and  assigns,  are  hereby  em- 
powered to  sell  the  premises  above  described,  with  all  and  every  of  the 
appurtenances,  or  any  part  thereof,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law;  and 
put  of  the  money  arising  from  such  sale,  to  retain  the  said  principal  and 
interest,  together  with  the  costs  and  charges  of  making  such  sale;  and  the 
overplus,  if  any  there  be,  shall  be  paid  by  the  party  making  such  sale,  on 
demand,  to  the  party  of  the  first  part,  his  heirs  or  assigns. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  said  party  [or  parties]  of  the  first  part  has  [or 
have]  hereunto  set  his  hand  and  seal  [or  their  hands  and  seals],  the  day 
and  year  firet  above  written. 

[Signature  and  seal.] 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Signature  of  witness.] 

SATISFACTION  OF  MOBTGAGE. 
STATE  OF  ) 

COUNTY  OF        J  ss 

I,E.  F.,  of  county  of  State  of  do  hereby  certify,  that  a 

certain  indenture  of  mortgage,  bearing  date  the  day  of          one  thou- 

sand eight  hundred  and  made  and  executed  by  A.  B.  (and  wife)  of 

county  of          State  of          to  me  to  secure  the  payment  of          dol- 
lars and  recorded  in  the  office  of          county  of          in  liber         of  mort- 
§ages,  page  on  the  day  of          in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 

undred  and  ,  o'clock  in  the          is  paid. 

And  I  do  hereby  consent  that  the  same  be  discharged  of  record. 
Dated  the       day  of       18    . 
In  presence  of  E.  F. 

[Signature  of  witness.] 
[The  satisfaction  piece  should  be  acknowledged  before  the  proper  officer.] 

Liens — A  iien  js  a  hold  or  claim  which  one  person  has  upon  the  prop- 
erty of  another  as  a  security  for  some  debt  or  charge.  A  lien  differs  from 
a  mortgage  in  that  it  attaches  as  an  incident  to  the  matter  of  the  debt  by 
act  of  the  law,  while  a  mortgage  is  made  for  the  express  purpose  of  the  se- 
curity. A  lien  is  the  right  to  retain  the  property  of  another  on  account  of 
labor  employed  or  money  expended  on  that  specific  property. 

Other  liens  are  on  property  never  in  the  possession  of  the  holder,  but 
which,  like  that  hi  favor  of  material  men,  mechanics  and  maritime  lenders, 
show  a  peculiar  equity  in  favor  of  the  creditor  as  regards  the  particular 
property. 

A  particular  lien  arises  out  of  labor  or  money  applied  to  a  specific  arti- 
cle in  the  possession  of  the  creditor. 

A  general  lien  is  a  right  to  retain  property  in  possession  for  a  general 
balance. 

Inn-keepers,  warehousemen,  tailors,  common  carriers,  repairers,  bro- 
kers, sellers,  and  pawnbrokers  have  particular  liens  for  services  rendered 
or  for  money  advanced  on  the  property  in  their  possession. 


LAW   FOB    TEE   MASSES.  447 

Attorneys  have  a  general  lien  on  the  papers  of  their  client  and  also  upon 
judgments  obtained  by  them.  Bankers  have  a  general  lien  on  all  securi- 
ties left  with  them  for  moneys  advanced  at  any  time  after  the  receival  of 
the  securities.  These  are  the  common  law  liens  and  are  allowed  in  every 
State  without  any  statute.  When  possession  is  given  up  the  lien  is  lost. 

Maritime  liens  are  those  of  a  shipper  on  the  vessef  for  the  value  of  the 
goods  sent,  of  the  owner  of  the  ship  on  the  goods  for  freight,  of  the  master 
of  a  ship  for  wages  and  disbursements,  of  a  seaman  for  wages,  of  a  material 
man  for  supplies,  etc/,  furnished;  of  injured  parties  in  case  of  a  collision, 
and  of  the  part  owners  for  extra  advances. 

Promissory  Notes. — A.  promissory  note  is  a  written  promise  to  pay 
a  certain  sum  of  money  at  a  future  time  unconditionally. 

The  party  signing  the  note  is  called  the  maker,  and  the  party  in  whose 
favor  it  is  drawn  the  payee. 

If  payment  is  to  be  made  only  to  the  payee,  the  note  is  not  negotiable; 
but  if  made  payable  to  him,  his  order,  or  to  bearer,  it  has  the  necessary 
qualifications  of  negotiable  paper. 

A  promissory  note,  after  it  has  been  endorsed  by  the  payee,  is  similar  to 
a  bill  of  exchange,  and  is  governed  by  most  of  the  rules  which  apply  to  bills. 
The  essential  qualities  to  give  validity  to  a  note  are  that  it  be  paid  abso- 
lutely and  at  all  events  (that  is,  that  its  payment  is  not  to  depend  on  any 
condition),  and  in  money. 

A  note  passes  by  endorsement,  which  may  be  in  full  or  in  blank,  as  in 
the  case  of  bills  of  exchange. 

If  endorsed  In  blank  it  can  be  transferred  through  any  number  of  hands 
without  further  endorsement  until  presented  for  payment,  when  the  holder 
of  the  note  writes  over  the  last  endorsement  an  order  to  pay  the  note  to  him 
or  his  order.  It  is  always  advisable,  however,  to  have  the  endorsement  of 
each  party  through  whoso  hands  the  note  has  passed. 

Notes  bear  interest  only  when  so  stated  therein. 

After  maturity,  all  notes  bear  interest. 

Three  days,  called  "  days  of  grace,"  are  allowed  after  the  time  men- 
tioned in  the  note  for  payment. 

If  the  last  of  these  days  falls  on  Sunday,  the  note  must  be  paid  on  the 
previous  Saturday. 

If  a  note  having  no  days  of  grace  falls  due  on  Sunday,  it  need  not  be 
paid  until  the  following  Monday. 

The  same  rule  holds  good  with  reference  to  legal  holidays,  in  which  case 
the  note  must  be  paid  on  the  day  previous  if  it  has  days  of  grace,  otherwise 
on  the  day  immediately  following. 

Notes  payable  ou  demand  are  not  entitled  to  "  days  of  grace." 

Notes  obtained  by  fraudulent  means  are  void. 

It  is  usiial,  and  sometimes  necessary,  especially  in  Pennsylvania  and 
Now  Jersey,  to  use  the  words,  "  without  defalcation  or  discount,  for  value 
received  "  in  a  noto. 

If  an  endorser  does  not  wish  to  be  held  liable  on  a  note  he  should  write 
the  words  "  without  recourse  "  before  his  name.  Written  words  in  a  note 
prevail  over  written  figures  at  the  top  or  bottom.  A  material  alteration  in  a 
note  discharges  all  the  parties  who  have  not  consented  to  the  alteration. 

As  between  a  maker  and  a  payee  of  an  accommodation  note,  the  payee 
cannot  enforce  payment;  but  if  he  has  endorsed  the  note,  and  it  has  passed 
into  the  hands  of  an  innocent  holder  for  value,  the  maker  is  liable. 


i48       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

If  no  place  of  payment  is  mentioned,  demand  for  payment  of  a  note  must 
be  made  of  the  maker  at  his  residence  or  usual  place  of  business  by  the 
holder  or  his  authorized  agent  on  the  day  the  note  falls  due,  and  if  pay- 
ment is  not  made,  notice  must  be  immediately  given  to  the  endorsers  in 
order  to  hold  them  liable. 

If  a  note  is  not  paid  when  it  falls  due,  it  is  said  to  be  dishonored. 

If  the  parties  reside  in  the  same  city  or  town,  notice  of  dishonor  must  be 
served  personally  on  them  by  leaving  notice  at  their  homes  or  places  of 
business;  but  if  the  parties  reside  in  different  places,  notices  must  bo 
mailed  to  them  not  later  than  the  next  day  after  demand  and  refusal. 

Each  endorser  is  allowed  a  day  in  which  to  serve  notice  on  his  immedi- 
ate preceding  endorser.  No  precise  form  of  notice  is  necessary. 

Notices  of  dishonor  and  protest  are  usually  sent  by  notaries  public,  for 
the  reason  that  in  most  States  "the  protest  and  certificate  of  such  an  officer 
are  regarded  a,aprima  facie  evidence  of  the  facts  stated  therein. 

Bank  Checks. — A  check  is  a  written  request  addressed  to  a  bank  or  a 
banker  by  a  person  having  money  on  deposit  with  either,  directing  that  a 
certain  sum  of  money  be  paid  by  said  bank  or  banker  to  a  person  named 
therein,  or  his  order,  or  to  the  bearer. 

A  check  on  a  bank  should  be  presented  for  payment  at  once  or  within  a 
reasonable  time. 

The  drawer  of  the  check  is  not  discharged  from  liability  by  delay  in  the 
uresentment,  unless  he  can  «how  that  he  has  suffered  injury  by  the  de- 
lay, as,  for  example,  by  the  failure  of  the  bank  on  which  the  check  was 
drawn. 

If  a  bank  pays  a  check  which  has  been  forged,  it  must  bear  the  loss. 

An  acceptance  of  a  check  is  not  a  discharge  of  the  debt,  unless  the  par- 
ties intended  it  to  be  such. 

Checks  are  transferred  by  endorsement  on  the  back,  and  this  may  be  in 
full  or  in  blank,  as  in  cases  of  bills  of  exchange. 

Payment  and  Tender. — Payment  is  the  fullfilment  of  a  promise,  or 
the  performance  of  an  agreement,  or  the  discharge  in  money  of  a  sum  due. 

Payment  must  be  iu  money  or  in  something  accepted  in  its  stead,  by 
some  one  authorized  to  receive  it.  The  legal  tender  established  by  law  id 
regarded  as  money.  United  States  coins  of  all  denominations  and  treasury 
notes  are  such. 

Negotiable  bills  and  notes  of  individuals  may  be  taken  in  payment  of  a 
debt,  but  only  have  the  effect  of,  and  operate  as,  payment,  when  taken  with 
that  object  in  view;  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts  they  are  presumed  to  be 
taken  in  payment  if  the  contrary  is  not  expressly  shown.  Giving  one's  own 
promissory  note  is  no  payment  of  a  debt  unless  so  understood  by  both  par- 
ties. If  a  note  or  bill  is  taken  on  a  debt,  due  diligence  must  be  taken  to 
collect  it  at  maturity,  or  it  will  operate  as  payment  by  being  treated  as  the 
bill  of  the  receiver,  and  discharging  the  parties  to  it. 

6iiving  a  check  is  not  payment  until  it  is  cashed,  or  an  unreasonable 
time  has  been  allowed  to  elapse  after  the  receipt  of  the  check,  and  the 
check  has  been  lost  thereby. 

A  receipt  is  prima  facie  evidence  of  payment.  Other  evidence,  such  ab 
thje  possession  of  a  note  by  the  maker,  etc.,  go  to  prove  payment. 

Payment  to  an  agent  or  attorney  is  good  if  the  agent  is  authorized  to  re- 
eeive  payment,  and  so  also  is  payment  to  the  wife,  if  she  is  authorized  to 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  448 

r»««ive  it.  An  agent,  however,  can  not  receive  anything  but  money  in  pay- 
ment, unless  specially  empowered  to  do  BO. 

Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  make  a  formal  tender,  if  payment  will  not 
be  taken,  or  proof  of  the  offer  is  desired. 

Tender  should  be  made  to  the  party  entitled  to  receive  payment.  The 
exact  amount  in  strict  legal  tender  money  should  be  offered,  stating  the 
amount,  and  offering  it  unconditionally,  except  that  hi  paying  a  note  the 
note  may  be  required  to  be  given  up  as  a  condition  of  the  tender. 

A  receipt  can  not,  however,  be  insisted  upon  without  vitiating  the  Under. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  a  receipt  can  be  demanded  and  insisted 
upon  when  money  is  paid.  There  ia  no  law  to  compel  a  man  to  give  a  re- 
ceipt when  he  receives  money,  and  he  can  refuse  to  do  BO. 

Tender,  if  good  and  sufficient,  stops  interest  and  accruing  damages  on 
the  debt. 

Guaranty.— A  guaranty  is  an  undertaking  to  answer  for  another's  lia- 
bility, and  is  collateral  thereto,  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  a  contract  by  which 
one  person  ia  bound  to  another  for  the  fullnlment  of  a  promise  or  engage- 
ment of  a  third  party.  It  differs  from  a  warranty,  which  ia  given  in  refer- 
ence to  the  title,  quality,  or  quantity  of  a  thing  sold.  No  special  words  are 
necessary  to  constitute  a  guaranty.  If  the  party  clearly  shows  that  it  ia  his 
intention  to  guaranty,  it  is  sufficient. 

In  order  that  the  guarantor  may  be  held,  the  guaranty  should  be  in 
writing,  signed  by  him.  It  the  guarantor  pays  his  principal's  debt  he  ia 
entitled  to  all  the  securities  of  the  creditor. 

The  conditions  of  the  guaranty  must  be  strictly  followed,  otherwise  the 
guarantor  will  not  be  held. 

The  guaranty  must  be  founded  on  a  consideration,  otherwise  it  ia  of  n<j 
force. 

It  is  a  sufficient  consideration  if  the  party  for  whom  the  guaranty  u 
given  derives  a  benefit,  or  the  party  to  whom  it  is  given  suffers  an  injury, 
because  of  his  acting  on  the  faith  of  the  guaranty.  No  consideration  need 
pass  from  the  party  receiving  the* guaranty  to  the  guarantor.  The  agree- 
ment of  both  parties  is  necessary  to  make  a  guaranty  binding  on  the 
guarantor.  The  guarantor  can  be  held  only  for  the  amount  agreed  upon, 
or  for  the  time  mentioned  in  the  guaranty. 

If  the  principal  fails  to  pay  the  debt,  the  guarantor  should  be  notified. 
A  guaranty  is  always  revocable  until  it  has  been  acted  upon. 

GTTABANTY  OF  PAYMENT  OF  NOTE. 

For  value  received,  I  hereby  guarantee  the  payment  of  the  within  note. 
[Date.]  [Signature.] 

GUARANTY  OF  PAYMENT  OF  BONO. 

In  consideration  of  the  sum  of  one  dollar  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  C.  D.,  I 
hereby  guarantee  the  payment  of  the  foregoing  bond. 
Witness  my  hand  [and  seal],  the       day       of        18    . 

[Signature,  with  or  without  seal.] 

Warranty — Warranties  which  accompany  a  sale  of  personal  property 
are  of  two  kinds  in  respect  to  their  forms,  express  and  implied. 

An  express  guaranty  is  one  by  which  the  warrantor  covenants  or  under- 
takes to  insure  that  the  thing  which  is  the  subject  of  the  contract  ia  or  ia  not 
»s  there  mentioned,  as,  for  example,  a  horse  is  sound. 

Au  implied  guaranty  is  one  which,  not  being  expresily  made,  the  Jatf 


i50      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 


liM  by  the  fact  of  the  sale.  For  example,  the  seller  is  understood  to 
warrant  the  title  of  the  goods  he  sells  when  they  are  in  his  possession  at 
the  time  of  the  sale.  If  they  are  not  in  his  possession  when  sold  and  no 
affirmation  of  title  is  made,  the  buyer  purchases  at  his  risk. 

As  a  general  rule  there  is  no  implied  warranty  as  to  the  quality  of  the 
goods  sold. 

If  a  'buyer  asks  for  or  receives  a  warranty,  it  is  his  fault  if  it  docs  not 
cover  as  much  ground  and  give  him  the  protection  he  intended  it  should. 

It  is  always  in  the  power  of  a  purchaser  to  demand  a  warranty,  and  if  he 
purchases  without  one  he  does  so  at  his  own  risk. 

No  precise  words  are  necessary  to  constitute  a  warranty.  It  is  sufficient 
if  the  words  used  show  an  intention  on  the  part  of  the  owner  that  the 
article  sold  ia  in  every  respect  as  represented. 

For  the  protection  of  the  purchaser  he  should  have  the  warranty  reduced 
to  writing  and  signed  by  the  owner. 

Receipts.—  A  receipt  is  a  written  acknowledgment  of  payment  or  de- 
livery of  money  or  property. 

It  is  made  by  the  party  receiving  the  money  or  goods.  A  receipt  is  the 
party's  admission  of  the  delivery  to  him.  It  is  simply  presumptive  evidence 
of  the  delivery  and  not  conclusive  at  all  on  the  party.  The  rule  which  ap- 
plies to  written  agreements,  that  they  can  not  be  varied  by  parol  evidence, 
does  not  apply  to  a  receipt;  but  the  party  may  show  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  given,  and  may  avoid  its  effect  not  only  by  showing  that 
he  was  led  to  give  it  by  fraud,  or  by  some  serious  mistake,  but  generally  by 
any  clear  proof  that  the  money  receipted  for  was  not  actually  paid. 

Raceipts  "in  full  "  of  a  specified  debt,  or  "  in  full  of  all  accounts,"  or 
"  all  demands,"  are  much  more  conclusive,  and  though  not  then  operating 
as  a  release,  extinguishing  the  debt  itself,  still  are  evidence  of  a  compromise 
and  mutual  settlement  of  the  rights  of  the  parties.  Greater  force  is  given 
to  a  receipt  if  a  seal  is  affixed. 

A  receipt  is  evidence  in  any  matter  to  which  it  is  an  incident.  A  receipt 
cannot  be  demanded  as  a  condition  of  payment  of  a  debt,  nor  can  the  party 
receiving  payment  be  compelled  to  give  a  receipt.  It  is  always  the  safer 
course  to  pay  the  debt  in  the  presence  of  witnesses. 

Releases.__A  release,  nnlike  a  receipt,  is  the  giving  up  or  abandoning 
a  claim  or  right  to  the  person  against  whom  the  claim  exists  or  the  right  is 
to  be  exercised  or  enforced,  while  a  receipt  is  simply  evidence  which  may 
show  that  a  claim  is  extinguished,  but  does  not,  however,  itself  extin- 
guish it. 

A  release  cannot  be  varied  by  testimony  or  outside  evidence. 

In  general,  a  release  should  express  a  consideration;  and  it  is  usual  to 
state  a  nominal  consideration  if  there  is  no  other;  and  the  instrument  should 
also  be  under  seal. 

A  release  by  one  of  several  persons  who  must  sue  together,  given  to 
one  of  several  persons  who  must  have  been  joined  as  defendants  if  an 
action  had  been  brought,  is  valid,  and  has  the  effect  of  discharging  all  the 
debtors,  if  it  be  under  seal;  but  it  is  competent  for  the  parties  to  prevent 
this  effect  by  expressing  in  the  release  that  it  is  not  to  discharge  the  other 
joint  debtors. 

Recovery  of  Debts.—  Several  of  the  States  have  abolished  arrest  and 
imprisonment  for  debt.  In  all  the  States,  however,  if  it  can  be  shown  that 


LAW   FOR    THE   MASSES.  451 

fraud  was  committed  in  the  contraction  of  the  debt,  or  that  the  debtor  is 
about  to  abscond,  arrest  and  imprisonment  are  still  allowed. 

Writ  of  attachment  and  the  garnishee  or  trustee  process  are  allowed 
quite  universally  throughout  the  States. 

By  the  trustee  or  garniahee  process,  a  person  who  has  money  or  prop- 
erty in  his  possession  belonging  to  a  defendant,  which  money  or  property 
has  been  attached  in  his  hands,  and  who  has  notice  of  such  attachment,  ia 
bound  to  keep  the  property  in  his  possession  to  answer  the  plaintift's  claim 
until  the  attachment  is  dissolved  or  he  is  otherwise  discharged. 

Deeds. — A  deed  is  any  written  instrument  containing  a  contract  or 
agreement  signed,  sealed  and  delivered  as  the  act  of  the  person  making  it. 
It  is  a  term  used  more  commonly  in  reference  to  conveyances  of  lands, 
tenements  and  hereditaments. 

The  requisites  of  a  deed  are  that  it  be  printed  or  written  on  paper  oi 
parchment,  and  be  made  by  a  person  capable  of  contracting  and  with  a  per- 
son capable  of  being  contracted  with,  and  contain  the  names  of  the  grantor 
and  grantee;  there  must  be  something  to  be  contracted  for;  it  must  contain 
the  requisite  parts  and  be  sealed  and  delivered,  and  should  be  signed  and 
witnessed,  and  for  the  purpose  of  being  recorded  should  be  acknowledged 
in  the  manner  required  by  statute  in  the  State  or  Territory  where  the  prop- 
erty is  situated.  The  deed  should  be  signed  by  the  grantor  and  by  hia 
wife,  if  he  has  one,  and  be  acknowledged  by  both  unless  there  be  a  statute 
rendering  this  unnecessary.  The  consideration  should  be  expressed  in  thfl 
body  of  the  instrument,  even  though  it  be  for  the  nominal  sum  of  on«> 
dollar. 

In  those  States  where  the  wife  has  dower,  the  grantor,  if  married,  oan- 
not  give  a  good  title,  unless  his  wife  signs  the  deed  with  him.  She  cannot 
be  compelled  to  sign.  The  grantee  should  refuse  to  accept  a  deed  without 
her  signature  in  those  States  where  dower  has  not  been  abolished.  Tha 
grantee  should  see  that  words  showing  that  the  wife  releases  her  dowei 
and  right  of  dower  are  used  in  the  deed. 

It  is  advisable  to  have  a  deed  witnessed  by  at  least  two  disinterested 
persons.  Although  a  seal  may  not  always  be  required,  it  is  more  pruderf 
to  affix  one  at  the  end  of  each  signature. 

The  grantor  pays  for  drawing  the  deed;  the  grantee  pays  for  searching 
the  title. 

For  the  greater  security  of  the  grantee  he  should  have  search  made  fol 
the  following  incumbrances  on  the  property:  Transfers,  mortgages,  Us 
pendens,  commissioner's  loans,  judgments  in  the  county  clerk's  office  and  in 
the  U.  S.  district  and  circuit  courts,  taxes  and  tax  sales,  sheriff's  and 
marshal's  sales,  insolvent  and  general  assignments,  appointment  of  re- 
ceivers and  appointment  of  trustees  of  absconding,  concealed,  non-resident 
or  imprisoned  debtors;  mechanics'  and  other  liens,  and  exemptions  unde» 
the  homestead  act. 

The  grantor  is  the  party  making  the  deed  and  the  grantee  the  party  in 
whose  favor  it  is  made  and  to  whom  it  is  delivered.  The  usual  covenants 
in  a  deed  are  that  the  grantor  is  lawfully  seized;  that  he  has  a  good  right 
to  convey;  that  there  are  no  encumbrances  on  the  property;  that  the 
grantee  shall  have  quiet  enjoyment,  and  that  the  grantor  will  warrant  and 
defend  the  title  against  all  lawful  claims.  The  grantor  signs  his  name,  or 
it  is  done  by  some  person  in  his  presence  and  by  Li»  direction,  or  by  an 
agent  authorized  by  an  instrument  under  seal  to  do  no.  If  a  grantor 


452       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

rcqncita  it  or  cannot  read,  the  instrument  mn«t  be  read  over  to  him  before 
its  execution.    If  the  grantor  is  unable  to  write,  he  makes 

his 

"  bis  mark,"  as,  for  example,  James  X  Brown. 

mark 

If  a  corporation  transfers  property,  the  president  usually  signs  the  deed 
as  president  and  affixes  the  corporate  seal. 

All  erasures  or  interlineations  should  be  noted  at  the  foot  of  the  instru- 
ment, and  just  above  the  signatures  of  the  witnesses. 

All  blanks  in  a  deed  should  be  filled  before  execution. 

Any  material  alteration  in  a  deed  after  execution  makes  it  void. 

There  should  be  a  delivery  and  acceptance  of  a  deed  to  make  it  opera- 
tive. 

A  deed  poll  is  one  which  binds  only  the  party  making  and  executing  it. 

A  deed  is  construed  in  a  manner  favorable  to  its  validity,  and  is  gov- 
erned by  the  law  of  the  place  where  the  land  is  situated  as  to  form  and 
requirements. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  grantee  to  have  the  deed  recorded  immediately  after 
it  is  delivered  to  him.  If  he  should  fail  to  do  so,  and  the  grantor  should 
make  another  conveyance  of  the  same  property  to  a  third  party  who  was 
ignorant  of  the  first  sale,  he  would  lose  his  title,  provided  said  third  party 
recorded  his  deed  immediately.  For  example,  if  A  sells  land  to  B,  who 
neglects  to  record  his  deed,  and  A  afterward,  and  before  B's  deed  is  re- 
corded, sells  the  same  property  to  C,  who  is  ignorant  of  the  sale  to  B,  B 
would  lose  his  title  to  the  property,  provided  C  recorded  his  deed  before 
B's  was  on  record.  The  deed  should  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the 
register  or  clerk  of  the  county  where  the  property  is  situated. 

WABBANTY  DEED. 

This  indenture  made  this  day  of  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  between  A.  B.,  of  the  city  of  and  State  of  mer- 
chant [and  C.  B.  his  wife],  of  the  first  part,  and  E.  F.,  of  in  said  county, 
farmer,  of  the  second  part,  Witnesseth:  That  the  said  party  [or  parties]  of 
the  first  part,  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  dollars,  lawful  money  of 
the  United  States,  to  him  [or  them]  in  hand  paid  by  the  said  party  of  the 
second  part,  at  or  before  the  ensealing  and  delivery  of  these  presents,  the 
receipt  whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged,  and  the  said  party  of  the  second 
part,  his  executors  and  administrators,  forever  released  and  discharged 
from  the  same,  by  these  presents,  has  [or  have]  granted,  bargained,  sold, 
aliened,  remised,  released,  conveved  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents 
does  [or  do]  grant,  bargain,  sell,  alien,  remise,  release,  convey  and  con- 
firm unto  the  said_  party  of  the  second  part,  and  to  his  heirs  and  assigns 
forever,  all  [here  insert  description],  together  with  all  and  singular  the 
tenements,  hereditaments  and  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  or  in  any 
wise  appertaining;  and  the  reversion  and  reversions,  remainder  and  re- 
mainders, rents,  issues  and  profits  thereof;  and  also  all  the  estate,  right, 
title,  interest  [dower  and  right  of  dower],  property,  possession,  claim  and 
demand  whatsoever,  both  in  law  and  in  equity,  of  the  said  party  [or  par- 
ties] of  the  first  part,  of,  in,  and  to  the  above-granted  premises  and  every 
part  and  parcel  thereof,  with  the  appurtenances.  To  have  and  to  hold  the 
above-mentioned  and  described  premises,  with  the  appurtenances  and 
every  part  thereof,  to  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  his  heirs  and 
assigns,  forever. 

And  the  said  A.  B.  and  his  heirs,  the  above-described  and  herebv 

granted  and  released  premises,  and  pvery  part  and  parcel  thereof,  with 

the  appurtenances,  unto  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  his  heise  and 

\  assigns,  against  the  said  party  [or  parties]  of  the  first  part,  and  his  [or 


LAW   FOB    THE    MASSES.  453 

their]  heirs,  and  against  all  and  every  person  and  persons  whomsoever, 
lawfully  claiming  or  to  claim  the  same  or  any  part  thereof,  shall  And  will 
warrant  and  forever  defend. 

In  witness  whereof  the  said  party  [or  parties]  of  the  first  part  has  [or 
have]  hereunto  set  his  baud  and  seal  [or  their  hands  and  seals]  the  day  and 
year  first  above  written. 

[Signatures  and  seals.] 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Signature  »f  witness.] 

QUIT-CLAIM  DBED. 

Enow  all  men  by  these  presents  that  I  [or  we],  A.  B.,  of  connty 
of  State  of  [and  C.  B.  his  wife],  in  consideration  of  dollars  to  me  [or 
us]  paid  by  E.  F.  of  the  receipt  of  which  is  hereby  acknowledged,  have 
remised,  released,  and  forever  quit-claimed,  and  by  these  presents  do  for 
myself,  my  [or  ourselves,  our]  heirs,  executors  and'adnuuistrators,  remise, 
release,  and  forever  quit-claim  unto  the  said  E.  F.,  his  heirs  and  assigns, 
forever,  all  such  right,  title,  interest  [dower,  right  of  dower],  property, 
possession,  claim,  and  demand  as  I  [or  as  we,  or  either  of  us]  have  or  to 
have  in  or  to  all  [insert  description  of  premises.] 

To  have  and  to  hold  said  premises  unto  the  said  E.  F.,  his  heirs,  and 
assigns,  to  his  and  their  only  proper  use  and  behoof  forever,  so  that  neither 
I,  the  said  A.  B.,  or  any  other  person  in  my  name  and  behalf  [or  we,  the 
said  A.  B.  and  C.  D..  or  either  of  us,  or  anv  other  person  in  our  or  either  of 
our  names  and  behalf],  shall  or  will  hereafter  claim  or  demand  any  right  or 
title  to  the  premises  or  any  part  thereof,  but  they  and  every  of  them  shall 
by  these  presents  be  excluded  and  forever  barred. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  [or  we]  have  hereunto  set  my  [or  our]  hand[sj 
and  seal[s]  this  day  of  18 

[Signatures.]    [Seals.] 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Signatures  of  witnesses.] 

Acknowledgment  and  Proof  of  Deeds — Acknowledgment  is  the 
act  of  a  person  who  has  executed  a  deed  in  going  before  a  competent  officer 
or  court  and  admitting  the  genuineness  of  the  instrument  and  that  it  was 
made  voluntarily.  This  acknowledgment  is  certified  to  by  the  court  or  offi- 
cer who  takes  it,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  the  acknowl- 
edgment is  taken. 

The  deed  or  instrument  is  proved  when  the  subscribing  witness  or  wit- 
nesses come  before  the  proper  officer  and  declare  its  genuineness,  and  the 
declaration  is  certified  to  by  the  officer. 

The  certificate  of  the  officer  can  not  be  altered  after  it  is  made  unless 
there  is  a  re-acknowledgment. 

The  acknowledgment  authorizes  the  deed  to  be  read  in  evidence  without 
other  proof  of  its  execution,  and  at  the  same  time  entitles  it  to  be  placed  on 
record,  and  should  be  required  by  the  purchaser  for  his  own  security. 

The  officer  taking  the  acknowledgment  should  sign  his  name  and  official 
title. 

It  is  always  prudent  to  have  a  witness  to  a  deed,  even  though  it  is  ac- 
knowledged, although  this  necessity  has  been  done  away  with  by  statutes 
in  many  of  the  States.  If  the  deed  is  not  acknowledged,  always  hav«  two 
witnesses. 

Delivery — Delivery  is  the  act  of  transfer  of  the  written  title  to  prop- 
erty (deeds),  or  of  written  promises  to  pay  (notes),  or  of  property  itself  ac- 
cording to  contract.  It  is  the  final  act  which  completes  the  contract  and 
makes  it  irrevocable.  When  the  deed  is  finally  and  intentionally  handed  to 


454      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

the  purchaser,  his  title  to  the  land  becomes  as  good  as  it  formerly  was 
when  he  was  actually  given  a  portion  of  a  sod,  or  a  twig,  and  put  into  pos- 
session before  witnesses  who  were  told  of  the  intention  of  the  parties,  but  a 
deed  may  be  delivered  in  trust,  conditionally,  not  to  be  complete  till  the 
happening  of  some  specified  event. 

There  is  no  particular  form  or  method  of  delivery,  which  may  be  as  va- 
rious as  the  ways  of  giving  any  other  paper,  though  an  intention  to  deliver 
with  all  that  it  implies  must  exist,  and  the  receiver  must  accept,  with  the 
intention  of  taking  possession  of  the  property  conveyed,  before  the  delivery 
is  complete. 

Delivery  of  a  note  is  entirely  similar,  though  it  is  oftener  conditional, 
and  more  apt  to  be  imperfect  or  fraudulent,  the  paper  being  less  formal. 
But  the  imperfect  delivery  of  a  note,  check,  or  draft  may  become  binding 
on  the  maker  if  the  paper  gets  into  the  hands  of  a  holder  in  good  faith  who 
paid  value  for  it,  on  account  of  the  negotiable  quality  of  the  paper.  Great 
care  should  be  token  not  to  give  up  notes,  etc.,  until  the  consideration  of 
them  is  fully  realized,  or  the  contract  under  which  they  are  given  is  thor- 
oughly understood  and  complete.  Notes  should  not  be  given  in  advance  of 
a  definite  settlement  or  to  evidence  debts,  for  many  persons  have  thus  been 
held  firmly  to  a  promise  they  did  not  intend  to  make.  A  contract  of  sale, 
exchange,  or  gift  is  completed  by  the  delivery  of  the  personal  property  it- 
self, which  is  simply  giving  it  up  into  the  possession  or  dominion  of  the 
proper  party.  It  may  be  symbolical,  as  by  the  delivery  of  a  key;  the  affix- 
ing of  a  mark,  by  measuring  out  or  Betting  aside,  but  always  with  the  in- 
tention to  part  with  the  property. 

The  contract  of  sale  is  not,  however,  always  followed  by  delivery,  as  the 
article  may  by  agreement  remain  with  the  seller.  Such  agreements  are 
often  given  to  defraud  creditors,  however,  and  should  be  closely  watched. 

Contracts — A  contract  is  an  agreement  between  two  or  more  parties 
to  do  or  not  to  do  some  particular  thing. 

Contracts  are  made  orally,  in  writing,  or  in  writing  under  seal.  There 
must  be  parties  to  a  contract,  a  consideration,  assent  of  the  parties,  and 
subject  matter. 

If  any  one  of  these  essentials  is  wanting  there  is  no  contract.  The  thing 
to  be  done  must  be  one  not  forbidden  by  law.  If  the  assent  of  either  party 
is  obtained  through  fraud,  fear,  or  compulsion,  the  contract  is  voidable,  for 
the  reason  that  the  assent  must  be  voluntary.  There  is  always  an  implied 
consideration  in  a  written  contract  under  seal.  There  must  be  a  meeting  of 
the  minds  to  make  a  valid  contract.  That  is  to  say,  the  parties  must  under- 
stand the  same  thing  in  the  same  sense.  The  intention  of  the  parties 
should  be  expressed  clearly,  and  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  the  use  of 
any  doubtful  word  or  words.  The  contract  is  governed  by  the  law  of  the 
place  where  made,  or  the  law  of  (he  place  where  it  is  to  be  performed.  The 
parties  to  a  contract  must  be  capable  of  contracting. 

Suits  are  constantly  arising  from  ihe  difficulty  of  learning  the  intention 
of  the  parties  to  the  contract,  because  of  the  use  of  words  whose  meaning  is 
doubtfuJ  or  indefinite. 

As  a  general  rule,  a  contract  can  not  be  enforced  against  married  women, 
&  person  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  an  imbecile,  an  insane  person,  or 
against  a  person  who  was  grossly  intoxicated  at  the  time  the  contract  was 
made.  It  is  advisable  to  have  all  contracts  reduced  to  writing  and  signed. 
Sach  party  should  keep  a  copy  of  the  contract. 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  455 

The  following  agreements  are  void,  unless  there  is  some  note  Ox-  memo- 
randum thereof  in  writing  expressing  the  consideration,  and  signed  by  the 
person  to  be  charged  therewith,  or  his  authorized  agent: 

Every  special  promise  to  answer  for  the  debt,  default,  or  miscarriage  of 
another  person. 

Any  agreement  made  upon  the  consideration  of  marriage,  unless  it  is  a 
mutual  agreement  to  marry. 

Any  agreement  which  by  its  terms  is  not  be  performed  within  &  year 
from  the  time  it  was  made. 

Every  contract  for  the  sale  of  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  for  the  price 
of  fifty  dollars  or  upward  is  void,  unless  the  buyer  shall  accept  and  actually 
receive  part  of  the  goods  sold,  or  pay  some  part  of  the  purchase-money,  or 
there  be  some  memorandum  of  the  contract  in  writing  signed  by  the  party 
to  be  charged  by  such  contract,  or  his  authorized  agent. 

All  contracts  in  reference  to  land,  except  leases  for  a  period  not  longer 
that  one  year,  must  be  in  writing.  If  the  party  to  be  charged  can  not  write, 
his  mark  will  be  sufficient  to  bind  him  to  the  contract.  Where  the  parties 
have  reduced  their  intentions  to  writing,  the  written  instrument  is  consid- 
ered the  best  evidence  of  what  was  intended. 

In  case  of  important  contracts  it  is  usual  to  affix  seals  to  the  instrument, 
and  have  the  execution  acknowledged. 

GENEBAL  FOKM  OF  CONTBACT,   WITH  PROVISION  FOB  LIQUIDATED  DAMAGES    IN 
CASE  OF  BBEACH. 

This  agreement,  made  the  day  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  by  and  between  A.  B.,  of  the  town  of  county  of  State  of 
of  the  first  part,  and  C.  D. ,  of  county  of  State  of  of  the  second 
part,  Wltnesieth:  That  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  covenants  and 
agrees  to  and  with  the  party  of  the  first  part,  to  [here  insert  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  agreement].  And  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  covenants 
and  agrees  to  pay  unto  the  said  party  of  the  second  part,  for  the  same  [here 
insert  the  consideration  and  the  terms  of  payment]. 

And  for  the  true  and  faithful  performance  of  all  and  every  of  the  cove- 
nants and  agreements  above  mentioned,  the  parties  to  these  presents  bind 
themselves,  each  unto  the  other,  in  the  penal  sum  of  dollar*,  as  liqui- 
dated damages,  to  be  paid  by  the  failing  party. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  parties  to  these  presents  have  hereunto  set  their 
hands  and  seals,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

[Signatures.]    [Seals.] 


Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Signatures  of  witnesses.] 


Consideration. — A  contract  or  promise,  for  which  there  is  no  consid- 
eration, can  not  be  enforced  at  law. 

Considerations  are  good  or  valuable.  A  good  consideration,  is  one  of 
natural  affection,  love,  or  of  blood.  A  valuable  consideration  is  such  as 
marriage,  money,  or  something  which  can  be  converted  into  money. 

A  valuable  consideration  is  the  only  one  which  is  vaHd  against  a  third 
party. 

Mxitual  promises,  to  submit  a  matter  in  dispute  to  arbitration,  are  a  valid 
consideration. 

A  promise  not  to  take  legal  proceedings  upon  a  valid  claim  is  a  valid 
consideration  for  a  promise. 

Trust  and  confidence  are  sufficient  consideration.  As  for  example,  iJ 
A  intrusts  B  with  money  or  property  to  be  delivered  safely  and  in  good 
order  to  C,  the  trust  is  a  sufficient  consideration  for  the  promise  of  B  to  «• 


4K       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

deliver,  and  B  would  be  liable  for  loss  or  damage  which  occurred  through 
hia  negligence,  even  though  his  promise  were  gratuitous. 

A  promise  for  a  promise  is  a  good  consideration.  For  example,  A  prom- 
ises to  teach  B  a  certain  trade.  This  is  a  consideration  for  a  promise  on  B'a 
part  to  remain  with  A  a  certain  length  of  time  to  learn  the  trade  and  serve 
him  during  that  time. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  contract  is  void  if  any  part  of  the  consideration 
is  illegal.  If  the  consideration  proves  to  be  worthless,  the  contract  is  not 
binding. 

Work  and  services  rendered  at  the  request  of  the  promisor,  are  a  suffi- 
aient  consideration  for  a  promise. 

Assignments.— An  assignment  is  the  transferring  and  making  over  to 
another  the  entire  interest  which  the  person  making  the  assignment  has  in 
the  thing  assigned. 

The  person  making  the  assignment  is  called  the  assignor,  the  person  to 
whom  it  is  made  the  assignee. 

Every  demand  connected  with  the  right  of  real  or  personal  property,  such 
as  estates,  interests  in  lands,  a  term  of  years,  rent  to  become  due,  debt  for 
goods  sold  and  delivered  evidenced  by  book  account,  a  judgment,  a  bond, 
balance  of  account,  policy  of  insurance,  promissory  notes,  checks,  bills  of 
exchange,  etc.,  may  be  assigned. 

The  pay  or  commission  of  an  army  or  navy  officer  can  not  be  assigned, 
nor  can  the  salaries  of  judges,  nor  a  right  of  action  for  a  tort  or  fraud. 

The  proper  technical  words  in  an  assignment  are,  "  assign,  transfer,  and 
set  over,"  although  any  words  which  show  the  intent  of  the  parties  to  make 
a  complete  transfer  of  their  interests  will  answer. 

An  assignment  will  not  hold  good  if  not  made  in  good  faith,  and  any 
party  in  interest  may  object  to  it,  and  if  he  can  show  fraud  on  the  part  of 
the  assignor  it  will  be  overturned. 

The  assignee  of  a  debt  should  immediately  after  the  assignment  give 
notice  of  that  fact  to  the  debtor. 

If  the  debtor  has  no  notice  of  the  assignment  and  pays  the  assignor,  he 
is  released  from  his  indebtedness,  but  not  so  if  notice  has  been  given 
him. 

The  assignee  takes  the  debt  subject  to  all  the  claims  which  the  debtor 
may  have  had  against  the  assignor  at  the  time  of  the  assignment,  or  before 
the  debtor  had  notice  of  said  assignment,  and  has  no  better  title  than  the 
assignor  had. 

Formerly  an  assignee  was  not  allowed  to  sue  in  his  own  name,  but  by 
statutes  in  some  of  the  States,  especially  in  New  York,  Maryland,  Ohio, 
Missouri,  California,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana,  the  assignee  of 
a  debt  may  bring  suit  in  his  own  name  in  a  court  of  law. 

The  assignment  should  be  in  writing.  This  is  not  always  necessary,  but 
it  is  always  better  in  order  to  be  on  the  safe  side. 

A  consideration  for  the  assignment  is  only  necessary  for  the  purpose  of 
•ustaining  it  against  creditors  and  third  parties. 

An  assignment  of  a  mortgage  should  always  be  acknowledged  in  order 
that  it  may  be  recorded,  and  it  is  advisable  to  have  it  sealed. 

In  order  to  make  a  valid  assignment  of  an  insurance  policy  ihe  consent 
of  the  insurers  should  be  previously  obtained. 

The  rules  governing  assignment  of  an  insurance  policy,  if  an  assignment 
u  allowed,  will  be  found  incorporated  in  the  body  of  the  policy. 


LAW  FOR    TffS   MASSES.  457 

FORM    OF    ASSIGNMENT    WHICH     MAT     BE    ENDORSED     ON     THE    INSTRUMENT 
ASSIGNED. 

In  consideration  of  the  sum  of  dollars  [or  For  valued  received],  I 

hereby  assign  the  within  [here  give  the  name  of  the  instrument  assigned] 
unto  John  Smith. 

[Date.]  [Signature.] 

Bills  of  Sale.— A  bill  of  sale  is  a  written  conveyance  of  personal  prop- 
erty, by  which  one  person  transfers  all  his  right  and  interest  in  the  prop- 
erty to  another. 

It  is  advisable  to  have  the  conveyance  under  seal,  although  it  is  not  al- 
ways necessary. 

If  there  is  a  delivery  or  part  payment,  no  written  instrument  in  needed; 
but  it  is  always  better  to  have  one  as  evidence  of  title  to  the  property. 

If  the  seller  continues  in  possession  of  the  property  after  the  sale,  the 
sale  is  presumptively  void  as  to  subsequent  purchasers  and  mortgagors 
who  were  ignorant  of  the  transaction,  unless  the  purchaser  can  show  that 
there  was  no  fraud  in  his  purchase,  and  that  he  had  good  reasons  for  allow- 
ing the  seller  to  retain  possession  of  it. 

A  COMMON  FORM. 

I,  Joseph  Gay,  of  the  town  of          county  of          State  of          party  of 

the  first  part,  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  dollars,  lawful  money  of 

the  United  States,  to  me  in  hand  paid  by   John  Crump,  of  the  town  of 

county  of  State  of  do  grant,  bargain,  sell,  and  convey  to  said 

John  Crump  [here  name  in  detail  articles  or  interest  sold]. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  day 

of  18    . 

[Signature.] 

Signed,  sealed,  ftnd  delivered  in  the  presence  ol 
[Names  of  witnesses.] 

Power  of  Attorney.— A  power  of  attorney  is  a  written  instrument  by 
which  one  person  is  empowered  to  act  for  another.  A  person  acting  under 
a  power  of  attorney  is  called  an  attorney  in  fact.  The  power  of  attorney  to 
authorize  a  person  to  execute  a  sealed  instrument  for  his  principal,  should 
be  under  seal,  executed,  attested,  and  acknowledged  the  same  as  a  deed. 
These  powers  are  general  and  special,  and  empower  the  holders  thereof  to 
act  the  same  as  general  or  special  agents,  and  are  subject  to  the  same  laws 
of  revocation  as  are  the  powers  of  agents. 

A  party  dealing  with  an  attorney  in  fact  should  examine  his  power,  to 
see  that  he  is  authorized  so  to  act. 

All  conditions  in  the  power  should  be  strictly  followed  out. 

By  the  statutes  of  New  York,  if  one  of  the  attorneys  in  fact  should  die, 
the  survivors  can  continue  to  act. 

All  the  attorneys  should  join  in  executing  their  power. 

In  a  conveyance  of  land  the  attorney  should  always  use  the  name  of  his 
principal  in  the  body  of  the  instrument,  and  execute  and  acknowledge  it 
in  the  name  of  his  principal,  with  his  own  name  as  attorney.  An  attorney 
is  not  authorized  to  appoint  a  substitute,  unless  he  is  speflW"  -mnowered 
to  do  so  by  his  power  of  attornty. 

A  SHORT  FOR*. 

Know  all  men  that  I,  John  Smith,  of  the  town  of       in  the  county  ot 
State  of  do  hereby  make,  constitute,  and  appoint  James  Brown,  of  the 

town  of          county  of          State  of          my  true  and  lawful  attorney  for 


468      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

me  and  in  my  name  to  [here  insert  what  the  attorney  is  authorized  to  dpi 
and  to  do  and  perform  all  acts  or  things  in  the  execution  of  the  aforesaid 
business,  as  fully  and  completely  as  I  might  do  were  I  present. 

In  witness  whereof.  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  day 

of  18    . 

[Signed  by  person  granting  the  power.] 
Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 

[Signature  of  witnesses.] 

Wills. — A  will  is  the  disposition  of  one's  property  to  take  effect  after 
death. 

Any  one  of  sound  mind  and  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  or  majority, 
may  make  a  will  of  real  property. 

A  will  must  be  signed  by  the  party  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  who  see 
(he  party  sign,  and  who  must  sign  in  his  presence  and  in  the  presence  of 
each  other. 

The  party  must  request  the  witnesses  to  eign  his  will. 

The  number  of  witnesses  required  in  most  of  the  States  is  two,  but  three 
are  required  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  Connecticut,  Florida,  Georgia, 
Louisiana,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Mississippi,  New  Hampshire, 
New  Mexico,  and  South  Carolina. 

A  gift  of  real  property  is  termed  a  devise;  a  gift  of  personal  property  a 
bequest  or  legacy. 

All  persons  may  take  personal  property  by  bequest,  and  all  persons 
capable  in  law  of  holding  real  property  may  take  real  property  by  devise. 

Corporations,  however,  cannot  take  real  property  by  devise,  unless  they 
are  specially  authorized  to  do  so  by  their  charters  or  other  laws.  And  by 
a  recent  act  in  New  York,  it  is  provided  that,  no  person  having  a  husband, 
wife,  child,  or  parent,  shall  devise  or  bequeath  to  any  benevolent,  cnarita- 
ble,  literary,  scientific,  religious,  or  missionary  society,  association,  or  cor- 
poration, in  trust  or  otherwise,  more  than  one-half  part  of  his  or  her  estate, 
alter  the  payment  of  debts;  and  such  devise  or  bequest  shall  be  valid  to 
the  extent  of  one-half  and  no  more. 

No  particular  words  are  needed  to  constitute  a  will.  With  an  exception 
in  favor  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  who  from  necessity  the  law  allows  to  make 
wills  verbally — called  nuncupative  wills  -there  must  be  a  written  statement 
of  the  testator's  wish,  signed  by  him.  Any  statement,  however,  which 
makes  the  testamentary  character  apparent,  is  sufficient  to  give  the  instru- 
ment the  character  of  a  will. 

In  no  case  does  a  will  have  any  operation  until  a  testator's  death.  And 
it  may  be  made  upon  condition,  so  that  even  then  it  will  not  take  effect  ex- 
cept under  the  circumstances  specified.  Two  persons  can  make  a  conjoint 
or  mutual  will. 

It  is  very  common  to  commence  wills  with  a  formal  preamble,  reciting 
the  testator's  capacity  to  make  a  will,  and  the  feelings  which  move  him  to 
the  act.  These  phrases  are  not,  however,  of  any  legal  efficacy,  and  may  be 
inserted  or  not  at  pleasure.  It  is  advisable  to  affix  a  seal  to  a  will,  although 
it  is  not  required  in  all  of  the  States,  to  give  validity  to  it. 

Wills  may  be  avoided  by  cancellation  or  revocation,  or  by  the  execution 
of  a  will  of  later  date.  Marriage,  with  the  birth  of  issue,  amounts  to  an  im- 
plied revocation. 

A  bequest  to  a  wife  in  lieu  of  her  dower  must  be  clearly  expressed,  or 
ahe  will  be  entitled  to  both;  provided  that  the  claim  of  dower  is  not  inoon- 
iistent  with  the  provisions  of  the  will.  The  courts,  however,  require  clear 


LAW  FOK    TffE   MASSES.  459 

proof  of  the  inconsistency.  Such  bequest,  however,  will  not  deprive  her  of 
her  dower,  but  she  has  her  choice  between  the  two. 

A  codicil  is  a  supplement  or  an  addition  made  to  a  will  by  the  testator, 
annexed  to  the  same,  and  to  be  taken  as  a  part  of  it;  being  intended  for  its 
explanation  or  alteration,  or  to  make  some  addition  to,  or  subtraction  from, 
the  former  dispositions  of  the  testator.  It  should  be  executed  in  the  same 
manner  and  with  the  same  formality  as  the  original  will. 

A  codicil,  like  a  will,  may  (unless  controlled  by  statute)  be  either  written 
or  nuncupative. 

Wills  should  be  drawn  carefully  so  as  to  express  plainly  and  exactly  the 
wishes  of  the  testator. 

Soldiers  and  sailors  in  active  service  may  make  a  declaration  of  their 
will  by  word  of  mouth  to  any  witnesses  who  may  be  convenient.  There 
should  be  three  witnesses.  The  witnesses  reduce  the  oral  declaration  to 
writing  and  attest  it. 

In  general,  a  beneficial  devise  or  bequest  to  a  subscribing  witness  is 
void,  unless  there  are  the  requisite  number  of  other  competent  subscribing 
witnesses,  so  that  the  will  may  be  proved  without  resort  to  the  testimony  of 
the  interested  witness. 

It  is  usual  and  proper,  but  not  essential,  to  write  at  the  end  of  the  will, 
below  or  at  one  side  of  the  testator's  signature,  a  statement  of  the  place, 
time,  purpose  and  circumstances  of  the  signatures  and  execution,  and  to 
let  the  witnesses  sign  below.  This  statement  is  called  the  attestation 
clause.  The  advantages  of  such  a  statement  is  in  facilitating  the  probate 
of  the  will.  If  a  witness  has  no  recollection  of  his  attesting  the  will,  but 
recognizes  his  name  under  such  a  statement  as  written  by  himself,  and 
testifies  that  he  should  not  have  written  it  there  had  he  not  known  the 
statement  to  be  true,  the  courts  will  generally  receive  this  as  supplying  his 
defect  of  memory. 

The  attestation  must,  except  in  a  few  States,  be  in  the  presence  of  the 
testator,  but  need  not  necessarily  be  in  the  same  room,  if  he  is  so  placed  as 
to  see  the  act.  Against  the  name  of  every  witness  his  residence  or  address 
should  be  written.  In  some  of  the  States  this  is  required  by  law,  and  in  all 
cases  it  is  convenient  and  always  advisable;  but  the  absence  of  this,  even 
where  it  is  required,  does  not  invalidate  the  will. 

WILL  OF  BOTH   REAL  AND  PEKSONAL  ESTATE. 

I,  A.  B.,  of  ,  in  the  county  of  ,  and  State  of          ,  merchant, 

being  of  sound  and  disposing  mind  and  memory,  do  make,  publish  and  de- 
clare this  to  be  my  last  will  and  testament,  hereby  revoking  all  former  wills 
by  me  at  any  time  heretofore  made. 

And  as  to  my  worldly  estate,  and  all  the  property,  real,  personal,  or 
Tnixed,  of  which  I  shall  die  seized  and  possessed,  or  to  which  I  shall  be  en- 
titled at  the  time  of  my  decease,  I  devise,  bequeath  and  dispose  thereof  in 
the  manner  following,  to  wit: 

My  will  is,  that  all  my  just  debts  and  funeral  expenses  shall,  by  my 
executors  hereinafter  named,  be  paid  out  of  my  estate,  as  soon  after  my 
decease  an  shall  by  them  be  found  convenient. 

I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  my  beloved  wife,  C.  B.,  all  my  household 
furniture,  my  horse  and  chaise,  and  the  chaise  harness;  and  also 
Collars  in  money,  to  be  paid  to  her  by  my  executors,  hereinafter  named,' 
•si  thin  months  after  my  decease;  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  her 
and  her  executors,  administrators  and  assigns  forever.  I  also  give  to  her 
the  use,  improvement  and  income  of  my  dwelling-house,  land,  and  its  ap- 
purtenances, situated  in  aforesaid  [describing  the  same],  and  my  land 


460      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

situated  in  [describing  the  same],  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  her  for 
and  during  the  term  of  her  natural  life. 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  honored  mother,  E.  B.,  dollars  in 

money,  to  be  paid  to  her  by  my  executors  hereinafter  appointed,  within 
months  after  my  decease;  to  be  for  the  sole  use  of  herself,  her  execu- 
tors, administrators  and  assigns. 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  daughter,  L.  B.,  my  shares  of  the  stock 
of  the  President,  Directors,  and  Company  of  the  Bank  in 

County  of  ,  and  State  of  ,  which  are  of  the  par  value  of 

dollars;  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  together  with  all  the  profits  and 
income  thereof,  to  her.  the  said  L.  B.,  her  heirs,  executors,  administrators 
and  assigns,  to  her  and  their  use  and  benefit  forever. 

I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  my  son,  H.  B.,  the  reversion  or  remain- 
der of  my  dwelling  or  mansion  house  and  its  appurtenances,  situate  in 
aforesaid  [describing  it],  and  all  profits,  income,  and  advantage  that 
may  result  therefrom,  from  and  after  the  decease  of  my  beloved  wife,  C.  B., 
to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  him,  the  said  H.  B.,  his  heirs  and  assigns, 
from  and  after  the  decease  of  my  said  wife,  to  his  and  their  use  and  behoof 
forever. 

I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  to  my  son,  J.  B.,  the  reversion  or  remainder 
of  my  land  situated  in  [describing  it],  and  its  appurtenances,  and  all  the 
profits,  income  and  advantage  that  may  result  therefrom,  from  and  after 
the  decease  of  my  beloved  wife,  C.  B.,  to  have  and  to  hold  the  same  to  the 
said  J.  B.,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  from  and  after  the  decease  of  my  said  wile, 
to  his  and  their  use  and  behoof  forever. 

All  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate,  real,  personal  and  mixed,  of  which 
I  shall  die  seized  and  possessed,  or  to  which  I  shall  be  entitled  at  my  de- 
cease, I  give,  devise  and  bequeath,  to  be  equally  divided  between  and 
among  my  said  sons,  H.  15.  and  J.  B. 

And,  lastly,  I  do  nominate  and  appoint  my  said  sons,  H.  B.  and  J.  B.,  to 
be  the  executors  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament. 

In  witness  whereof,  I,  the  skid  A.  B.,  have  to  this  my  last  will  and 
testament,  consisting  of  sheets  of  paper,  subscribed  my  name  and 
affixed  my  seal  this  day  of  ,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and 

Signed,  sealed,  published,  and  de-  "|  A.  B.    [Seal.] 

clared  by  the  said  A.  B.,  as  and 
for  his  last  will  and  testament, 
in  the  presence  of  us,  who  at  his 
request  and  in  his  presence,  and 
in  the  presence  of  each  other, 
have  subscribed  our  names  as 
witnesses  thereunto. 

residing  at  in  county. 

[Signatures  of  witnesses.]      residing  at  ,  in  county, 

residing  at  ,  in  county. 

Executors  and  Administrators. — An  executor  is  a  person  whom 
\3ie  testator  appoints  by  his  will  to  carry  out  his  wishes  therein  expressed. 

As  a  general  rule,  all  persons  capable  of  making  wills  and  many  others 
tail  be  executors. 

Executors  can  be  appointed  by  will  or  codicil;  explicit  words  of  ap- 
pointment are  not  necessary,  although  usual. 

An  administrator  is  a  person  appointed  by  the  proper  court  to  taKe 
charge  of  and  distribute  the  estate  of  an  intestate  or  of  a  testator  who  has 
no  executor.  An  administrator  with  the  wiH  annexed  is  a  person  appointed 
by  the  court  to  manage  and  distribute  the  estate  of  the  testator  when  no 
executor  is  named  in  the  will,  or  the  person  appointed  in  the  will  refuses 
t«  act.  or  il*»  executor  dies  before  he  has  completed  hia  duties  as  such  ex- 


LAW   FOli    THE    MASSES.  461 

ccutor.  Both  executors  and  administrators  are  regarded  as  the  personal 
representatives  of  the  deceased,  having  in  their  hands  his  means  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  his  debts,  completing  his  contracts,  and  of  carrying  into 
effect  his  will  if  he  has  left  one. 

The  proper  persons  to  take  out  letters  of  administration  are,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  the  husband  or  wife;  then  the  children,  male  preferred  to  female; 
then  the  father  or  mother;  then  the  grandparents;  and  in  many  of  the 
States  a  creditor  can  apply  for  letters  of  administration  if  the  proper  per- 
sons refuse  or  delay  to  apply.  In  general,  anybody  can  be  an  adminis- 
trator who  can  make  a  contract,  but  the  above  parties  have  the  preference. 

The  authority  of  an  executor  dates  from  the  moment  of  his  testator's 
death;  that  of  an  administrator  does  not  exist  until  letters  have  been 
granted  to  him,  and  then  it  reverts  back  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  then  only  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  estate. 

The  executor  is,  as  a  general  rule,  required  to  give  a  bond  before  letters 
testamentary  are  issued  to  him,  unless  this  requirement  is  done  away  with 
by  statute,  or  the  testator  expressly  directs  in  his  will  that  no  bond  be  re* 
quired. 

A  bond  is  always  required  of  an  administrator. 

The  duties  of  executors  and  administrators  being  BO  similar,  what  fol- 
lows will  be  applicable  to  both. 

Immediately  after  letters  testamentary  or  of  administration  are  issued 
to  a  person  he  must  prepare  an  inventory  of  the  property  and  file  it.  He 
must  pay  the  funeral  expenses.  Within  a  convenient  time  alter  the  death 
of  the  deceased  he  should  collect  the  goods  if  he  can  do  so  peacefully;  if 
not,  he  should  take  legal  measures;  he  must  collect  the  goods  and  chattel* 
and  the  claims  inventoried;  he  should  give  notice  of  his  appointment  as  re- 
quired by  statute,  and  should  advertise  for  debts  and  credits;  if  he  is  an 
executor  he  must  follow  the  directions  of  the  will  in  reference  to  personal 
effects;  but  it  an  administrator,  he  must  collect,  appraise,  and  sell  the 
whole;  he  must  keep  the  money  safely,  and  may  be  charged  interest  on  it; 
he  must  pay  the  debts  in  the  following  order — first,  funeral  expenses,  as 
referred  to  above;  then  United  States,  State,  county,  and  town  debts;  then 
general  creditors,  after  which  the  legacies  are  to  be  paid.  If  a  sufficient 
amount  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  deceased  is  not  realized  from  the  sale  ol 
personal  property,  an  application  is  made  to  the  court  issuing  the  letters, 
for  an  order  to  be  allowed  to  sell  the  real  property.  After  payment  ol 
debts  an  account  of  proceeding  must  be  filed  in  the  court  issuing  the  letters; 
this  usually  must  be  done  within  a  year  from  time  of  entering  on  the  duties. 
Neither  an  executor  nor  an  administrator  can  act  outside  of  the  State  in 
which  he  was  appointed.  If  either,  while  in  the  performance  of  his  duties, 
make  a  bill  or  note  and  signs  it,  adding,  "  as  executor,"  or  "  as  administra- 
tor," he  is  personally  liable,  unless  he  expressly  limits  his  promise  to  pay 
by  the  words,  "if  the  assets  be  sufficient,"  or  some  equivalent  words,  but 
such  a  note  or  bill  would  not  be  negotiable  because  on  condition. 

Executors  and  administrators  usually  receive  a  commission  for  their  ser- 
vices. If  there  are  two  or  more  executors  and  one  of  them  die,  the  sur- 
vivors or  survivor  continue  to  act.  If  all  die,  an  administrator  is  appointed 
by  the  court  on  the  application  of  the  proper  person. 

The  executor  should  notify  all  parties  in  interest  that  on  a  certain  day 
he  proposes  to  produce  the  will  for  probate  and  apply  for  letters. 

Both  executors  and  administrators  should  give  notice  to  the  parties  ia 
interest  of  their  Intention  to  file  a  final  account  and  ask  for  a  discharge, 


'462      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

After  the  expiration  of  a  certain  length  of  time,  usually  one  year,  any  party 
in  interest  can  apply  to  the  court  issuing  the  letters  to  compel  the  executor 
or  administrator  to  account. 

FOBM  OF  A  PETITION   FOB  LETTEBS  OF  ADMINISTBATION. 

[To  be  addressed  to  the  Court  of  Ordinary,  Court  of  Probate,  Orphans' 

Court,  County  Court,  or  Surrogate  (as  the  case  may  be),  of  the  proper 

County.] 

To  the  Court  of  Ordinary  of       in  the  State  of  : 

The  petition  of  widow  [or  son  or  daughter,  etc.,  as  the  case  may 

be],  of  late  of  deceased,  respectfully  shows:   That  on  or  about 

the  day  of  18  ,  the  said  died,  leaving  goods,  chattels,  rights, 
credits,  and  real  estate  in  aforesaid;  that,  to  the  best  of  the  knowledge 
and  belief  of  your  petitioner,  no  last  will  and  testament  was  left  by  the 
said  deceased;  that  the  deceased  has  left  a  widow  your  petitioner, 
aged  years,  and  two  children,  aged  years,  and  aged  years; 
and  that  the  deceased  was,  at  and  immediately  preceding  his  death,  an  in- 
habitant of 

Your  petitioner  therefore  prays  that  letters  of  administration  may  be 
granted  on  the  estate  of  the  said  deceased,  and  that  he  [or  she]  may  be  ap- 
pointed the  administrator  thereof. 

[Signature.] 

Dated  this        day  of       A.  D.  18    . 

FOBM  OF  ADVEBTISEMENT  FOB  GBANTING   LETTEBS  OF  ADMINISTBATION. 

NOTICE.  —Whereas  letters  of  administration  upon  [or  testamentary  to,  in 
in  case  of  an  executor]  the  estate  of  late  of  have  been  granted  to  the 
subscriber,  all  persons  indebted  to  the  said  estate  are  requested  to  mak« 
immediate  payment,  and  those  having  claims  or  demands  against  the  same, 
will  make  known  the  same  without  delay  to 

[Signature.] 

Dated  this        day  of       18    .  Administrator. 

INVENTOBY  OF  PBOPEBTY. 

A  true  and  perfect  inventory  and  just  appraisement  of  all  and  singular 
the  goods  and  chattels,  rights  and  credits,  which  were  of         late  of 
county  of       and  State  of  deceased,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  to  wit: 

[Here  append  the  inventory,  estimating  bonds,  notes,  book-accounts, 
and  the  like,  under  the  headings  of  "good,"  "  doubtful,"  and  "  bad."  If 
real  estate  is  to  be  appraised,  include  that  in  the  same  inventory,  adding 
up,  however,  the  inventory  of  the  personal  property  separately.] 

Taken  and  appraised  by  us,  the       day  ot       18    . 

[Signatures.] 
County,  ss. 

Personally  appeared  before  me,  Justice  of  the  Peace  [or  any  proper 
officer],  in  and  for  the  said  county  and  who  upon  their  solemn  oath 
[or  affirmation],  do  depose  and  say,  that  they,  at  the  request  of  [as  the  case 
requires],  did  well  and  truly,  and  without  prejudice  or  partiality,  value  and 
appraise  the  goods,  chattels,  and  credits  which  were  of  deceased,  as  set 
forth  in  the  inventory  hereto  annexed,  and  in  all  respects  performed  their 
duties  as  appraisers,  to  the  best  of  their  skill  and  judgment. 

[Signatures.] 

Subscribed  and  sworn  [or  affirmed]  to  before  me,  this        day  of 
18    . 

[Name  and  title  of  officer.] 

APPOINTMENT  OF  APPBA1SEBS. 

Estate  of  deceased. — I,  administrator  of  deceased,  do  hereby 
certifv  that  I  have  selected  and  summoned  [here  insert  names  of  persons 
summoned],  disinterested  and  competent  persons,  to  appraise  the  personal 


LAW   FOE    THE    MASSES.  463 

property  elected  to  be  taken  and  kept  by       widow  of       under  the  [recit- 
ing section  and  Act  under  which  claim  is  made]. 
Witness  my  hand  this       day  of       18 

[Signature.] 

FOBM  FOB  APPRAISEMENT. 

The  undersigned  having  been  selected  and  summoned  by  adminis- 

trator of          deceased,  to  appraise  the  personal  property  retained  by 
widow  of  deceased,  under  the  provisions  of  [reciting  as  above],  and 

having  been  respectively  sworn  [or  affirmed],  do  value  and  appraise  the 
same  as  follows,  to  wit:   [inserting  articles  retained  and  value  of  each]. 
Witness  our  hands  and  seals  this  day  of          18    . 

[Signatures.]  [Seal.] 
[Seal.] 
[Seal.] 

Partition.— Partition  is  the  division  which  is  made  between  several 
persons,  of  lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  or  of  goods  and  chattels 
which  belong  to  them  as  co-heirs  or  co-proprietors.  The  division  is  either 
voluntary  or  compulsory. 

Voluntary  partition  is  made  by  the  mutual  consent  of  the  owners,  and 
is  effected  by  mutual  conveyances,  without  covenants  of  warranty,  or  by 
release  to  each  person  of  the  share  which  he  is  to  hold,  executed  by  the 
other  owners. 

Compulsory  partition  is  made  without  regard  to  the  wishes  of  one  or 
more  of  the  owners,  and  is  effected  by  special  laws  provided  for  the  pur- 
poae  in  each  State. 

Trusts  and  Trustees. — A  trust  is  a  right  of  property,  real  or  per- 
sonal, held  by  one  party  for  the  benefit  of  another.  It  is  founded  on  confi- 
dence, and  out  of  it  grow  two  different  estates,  or  property  rights,  the  legal 
title  of  which  is  in  the  trustee,  and  the  equitable  or  beneficial  title  in  the 
person  intended  to  be  benefited  by  the  property. 

The  objects  for  which  trusts  in  lands  may  be  expressly  created  are:  1. 
To  sell  lands  for  the  benefit  of  creditors.  2.  To  sell,  mortgage  or  lease 
lands  for  the  benefit  of  legatees,  or  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  any  charge 
thereon.  3.  To  receive  the  rents  and  profits  of  lands,  and  apply  them  to  the 
use  of  some  person  named  in  the  instrument  creating  the  trust.  4.  To 
receive  the  rents  and  profits  of  lands,  and  accumulate  them. 

Express  trusts  are  created  in  express  terms,  in  the  deed,  writing  or  will. 
They  are  usually  found  in  sealed  agreements,  such  as  marriage  articles, 
agreements  for  the  purchase  of  lands,  assignments  for  the  payment  of  debts, 
and  for  carrying  out  bequests  in  wills  to  charities. 

There  are  also  implied  trusts  which  are  raised  or  implied  by  law  from 
certain  transactions,  mostly  being  the  expression  of  legal  duty. 

No  particular  form  of  words  is  necessary  to  the  creation  of  a  trust.  Oral 
words  may  be  sufficient  to  create  a  trust  in  personal  property,  but  writing 
is  necessary  in  the  case  of  real  property. 

The  person  holding  property  for  the  benefit  of  another  is  called  a  trustee. 

Executors,  administrators,  guardians,  and  assignees  are  trustees,  to  a 
certain  extent,  and  the  law  of  trusts  is  applicable  to  them. 

A  trustee  is  held  to  strict  honesty  in  the  disposition  of  the  property.  He 
can  not  retain  any  of  the  profits  nor  purchase  the  property  upon  its  sale, 
nor  can  he  speculate  with  the  trust  property. 


464       CYCLOPEDIA    OF   USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

A  trustee  is  chargeable  for  the  good  and  business-like  management  ol 
the  trust  property. 

The  court  will  appoint  new  trustees  on  the  death  or  disability  of  the 
original  or  any  succeeding  trustees. 

A  trustee  may  renounce  or  refuse  to  accept  a  trust,  but  having  entered 
into  it  he  can  not  rid  himself  of  its  duties  unless  he  ia  legally  discharged  by 
the  court,  or  the  consent  of  all  concerned.  He  can  not  delegate  his  powers 
to  another,  for  the  office  is  one  of  personal  confidence. 

Where  there  are  several  trustees  they  must  act  jointly  by  the  majority, 
and  can  not  act  and  bind  the  trust  separately,  though  executors  may. 

Marriage. — Marriage  is  a  contract  made  in  due  form  of  law,  by  which 
a  man  and  woman  reciprocally  agree  to  live  with  each  other  during  their 
joint  lives,  and  to  discharge  toward  each  other  the  duties  imposed  by  law 
on  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife. 

The  promises  must  be  reciprocal;  that  is,  there  must  be  a  promise  on 
the  part  of  each  party. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  promises  to  marry  be  made  at  the  same 
time,  provided  that  the  offer  is  accepted  before  being  recalled,  or  within  a 
reasonable  time  after  being  made. 

The  contract  to  marry  is  completed  by  an  acceptance  of  the  offer. 

After  the  contract  is  made,  either  party  can  bring  an  action  for  a  breach 
of  it  on  the  part  of  the  other  party,  unless  the  breach  is  committed  by  a 
party  under  legal  age. 

A  marriage  contract  differs  from  other  contracts,  as  it  can  not  be  re- 
scinded at  the  will  of  the  parties. 

All  persons  are  able  to  con  tract  marriage,  unless  they  are  under  the  legal 
age  or  unless  there  are  other  disabilities. 

At  common  law  the  age  of  consent  is  twelve  for  females  and  fourteen 
for  males.  If  either  party  marries  before  arriving  at  the  age  of  consent, 
the  younger  can,  on  arriving  at  that  age,  avoid  the  marriage. 

If  either  party  is  an  idiot,  or  insane,  the  marriage  is  void. 

Force  or  fraud  renders  a  marriage  voidable;  that  is,  it  may  be  set  aside, 
and  a  divorce  must  be  granted  on  the  application  of  the  injured  party  only. 

The  parties  must  be  willing  to  enter  into  the  relation  of  husband  and 
wife  to  make  the  marriage  valid.  If  the  willingness  to  marry  is  obtained 
through  fraud,  the  marriage  may  be  set  aside.  The  ferce  or  fraud  must  be 
extreme  and  certain,  otherwise  the  marriage  will  not  be  set  aside. 

Consanguinity  and  affinity  within  the  rules  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the 
various  States  and  Territories  render  a  marriage  void. 

Corporeal  impotence  renders  a  marriage  voidable.  This  impotence  must 
have  existed  at  the  time  of  the  marriage,  and  must  be  incurable. 

If  either  party  has  a  husband  or  wife  living,  the  marriage  is  void. 

The  parties  must  actually  make  a  contract  of  marriage.  The  require- 
ments and  form  will  be  governed  by  the  laws  of  the  State  where  the  cere- 
mony is  performed. 

The  following  are  the  proper  persons  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  mar- 
riage: 

Ministers  of  the  gospel  and  priests  of  every  denomination,  mayors,  re- 
corders, and  aldermen  of  cities,  judges  of  county  courts,  and  justices  of  the 
peace. 

When  the  marriage  is  performed  by  a  magistrate,  no  particular  form  is 
required,  except  the  parties  must  solemnly  declare  in  the  presence  of 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  465 

magistrate  and  a  witness  that  they  take  each  other  as  husband  and  wife. 
There  should  always  be  one  witness  to  the  ceremony. 

The  person  performing  the  ceremony  must,  on  application  of  either 
party,  furnish  a  certificate  signed  by  him,  which  must  give  the  names  and 
residences  of  the  parties;  the  names  and  residences  of  the  attesting  wit- 
nesses; and  the  time  and  place  of  the  marriage. 

The  statutes  in  some  of  the  States  require  licenses  to  be  taken  out  and 
notice  of  the  intended  marriage  to  be  given. 

In  nearly  all  civil  cases  marriage  may  be  proved  by  cohabitation,  ac- 
knowledgment by  the  parties,  reception  by  the  family,  and  general 
reputation. 

Dower. — Dower  is  the  provision  which  the  law  makes  for  a  widow  out 
of  the  lands  or  tenements  of  her  husband  for  her  support  and  the  nurture 
of  her  children.  The  word  "  dower"  has  reference  to  real  estate  exclu- 
sively. . 

In  order  to  entitle  the  wife  to  dower  there  must  have  been  a  legal  mar' 
riage  which  has  not  been  dissolved,  seizure  of  the  husband,  and  his  death. 

In  those  States  and  Territories  where  dower  is  allowed,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  wife  join  in  a  conveyance  of  the  husband's  real  estate,  in  order  to 
give  the  grantee  a  good  title.  In  general,  if  there  is  no  statement  in  the 
conveyance  that  the  wife  releases  her  "  dower  and  right  of  dower,"  she  can 
enforce  it  at  the  death  of  her  husband. 

The  wife's  dower  or  right  of  dower  may  be  lost  or  barred  by  joining 
with  her  husband  in  a  conveyance  of  land;  by  adultery  on  her  part,  and  sub- 
sequent divorce,  by  foreclosure  of  a  mortgage  given  by  a  husband  before 
marriage,  or  by  husband  and  wife  after  marriage;  by  a  release  of  dower, 
and  by  a  marriage  settlement  made  previous  to  marriage  in  lieu  ol  dower. 

The  wife  must  have  been  of  age  when  she  joined  with  her  husband  in  a 
conveyance  of  land  in  order  to  bar  her  dower  or  right  of  dower.  The 
widow  has  dower  in  that  part  of  the  estate  which  remains  after  all  the  eja- 
cumbrances  and  liens  against  the  same  have  been  paid. 

Dower  is  allowed  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  except  Arizona,  Cali- 
fornia, Colorado,  Dakota,  Idaho,  Kansas,  Louisiana,  Minnesota,  Texas  and 
Utah. 

In  Nevada,  on  the  death  of  the  husband,  the  wife  takes  the  entire  com- 
munity property  [that  is,  property  owned  by  the  husband  and  wife  in  com- 
mon], after  paying  the  debts,  family  allowances,  and  expenses  of  adminis- 
tration. 

In  New  Mexico  the  wife  has  no  dower  except  her  private  property,  but 
she  has  one-half  of  all  the  other  property  remaining  after  paying  the  debts 
of  the  estate. 

In  Washington  Territory  the  wife  takes  one-half  of  the  common  property, 
subject  to  the  debts  of  both. 

In  Wyoming  Territory  the  wife  takes  the  entire  estate,  both  real  and 
personal,  after  paying  the  debts,  provided  that  the  estate  does  not  exceed 
the  sum  of  $10,000. 

Husband  and  Wife — The  husband  is  bound  to  provide  his  wife  with 
all  the  necessaries  of  life  as  far  as  compatible  with  his  means  and  their 
position  in  life. 

If  he  furnishes  a  home  for  his  wife,  he  cannot  be  held  for  her  board  if 
she  does  not  occupy  it.  He  can  purchase  and  sell  personal  property  with- 


466       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

•nt  her  consent,  and  can  purchase  real  property,  but  cannot  sell  it  free 
from  her  claims  without  her  consent,  as  she  has  a  dower  right  in  it.  This 
right  of  dower  has  been  abolished  in  some  of  the  States,  and  where  such  is 
the  case  he  can  act  as  freely  with  his  real  as  with  his  personal  property. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  wife's  personal  property  belongs  to  the  husband, 
unless  there  is  some  statute  to  the  contrary;  and  at  common  law,  if  a  child 
is  born  alive  before  the  death  of  the  wife,  he  has  a  life  estate  in  her  real 
property. 

The  rights  of  the  husband  over  the  wife's  property  depend  largely  on 
the  statutes  of  the  different  States. 

The  wife  can  call  on  the  husband  to  furnish  her  with  the  necessary  food 
and  clothing  according  to  his  means  and  their  position  in  life,  and  if  he 
neglects  or  refuses  to  furnish  them,  she  can  get  them  on  his  account,  and 
he  will  be  bound  to  pay  lor  them.  She  is  entitled  to  dower  in  all  the  real 
property  of  which  he  died  seized.  Under  the  common  law,  by  marriage 
the  wife  loses  the  title  4o  her  personal  property  and  the  use  of  her  real 
property. 

Parent  and  Child.— The  parent  is  under  legal  duty  to  support  the 
minor  child.  It  is  now  held  by  high  authority  that  a  minor  child  who  is  not 
supported  by  its  parent  may  purchase  necessaries  on  credit,  and  the 
tradesman  may  then  sue  the  parent,  on  the  theory  of  an  implied  contract, 
but  if  the  parent  supplies  reasonable  necessaries  the  tradesman  cannot  hold 
the  parent  liable.  If  the  child  is  in  better  circumstances  than  the  parent, 
the  father  will  not,  as  a  general  rule,  be  obliged  to  support  it. 

No  man  is  bound  to  support  the  children  of  his  wife  by  a  former  hus- 
band, nor  can  be  compel  them  to  pay  him  for  their  support  if  he  provides 
for  them. 

The  child  cannot  compel  its  parent  to  educate  it.  The  child  has  a  claim 
on  its  parent's  estate  for  bare  maintenance  only. 

The  parent  is  not  liable  for  the  wrongful  acts  of  the  child.  The  father 
has  the  right  to  the  custody  of  the  child  against  all  persons  except  the 
mother,  and  between  him  and  her  the  court  will  decide. 

The  father  has  a  right  to  the  services  of  the  child;  consequently,  if  it  be 
employed  by  another  person,  the  father  can  collect  its  wages.  The  parent 
may  give  the  child  its  time,  in  which  case  the  child  would  be  entitled  to  its 
wages. 

The  parent  can  bring  suit  for  personal  injury  to  the  child. 

The  child  is  obliged  to  support  its  indigent  parent  if  it  is  able  to  do  so, 
but  cannot  be  compelled  to  pay  bills  which  the  parent  may  contract.  This 
obligation  to  support  an  indigent  parent  is  enforced  by  the  Superintendent 
of  the  Poor. 

Divorce. — Divorce  is  the  dissolution  or  partial  suspension  by  law  of  the 
marriage  relation.  Marriage  is  often  called  a  contract,  but  it  is  one  that 
establishes  a  relation  or  status  and  cannot  be  broken  or  dissolved  by 
mutual  consent,  nor  is  the  wrong-doing  of  either  party  sufficient  to 
authorize  a  dissolution  or  break  the  contract  until  a  solemn  judgment  of  the 
court  or  act  of  legislature  formally  dissolve  the  relation.  So  that  usually, 
if  there  is  no  defence  to  a  suit  for  divorce,  the  case  does  not  go  by  default, 
but  is  heard,  so  far  as  to  show  its  justice  or  otherwise,  and  the  desire  of 
both  parties  for  the  same  result,  going  so  far  as  to  produce  connivance 
between  them,  is  ground  for  denying  the  divorce.  If  the  ofience  has  been 


LAW   FOR    TUE    MASSES.  467 

forgiven  or  condoned,  none  is  granted.  So,  if  the  cause  is  adultery  and 
both  are  guilty  of  the  same  offence. 

A  degree  of  the  nullity  of  a  marriage  is  commonly  called  a  divorce.  It  ia 
granted  when  one  of  the  parties  is  shown  to  have  been  married  to  a  living 
party  and  not  divorced,  or  the  marriage  was  only  pretended,  forced  or 
fraudulent,  or  between  parties  within  the  prohibited  relationship,  but  these 
are  also  general  causes  of  divorce. 

A  legal  separation  which  was  formerly  granted  more  frequently  than  at 
the  present  time,  and  which  left  the  parties  married  with  none  of  the  rights 
of  marriage,  is  called  a  divorce  from  bed  and  board.  It  grows  less  common 
as  the  laws  of  divorce  grow  more  liberal.  It  was  granted  for  causes  that 
are  now  grounds  for  a  full  divorce. 

The  canonical  or  scriptural  ground  of  div»rce  is  for  adultery  only; 
though  impotency  is  also  a  general  ground  for  divorce.  Adultery  and  im- 
potency  are,  as  a  general  rule,  grounds  for  a  divorce  in  all  the  States  and 
Territories. 

Minors.— A  minor,  usually  called  an  infant,  is  any  person  who  has  not 
yet  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 

A  minor  can  not  enter  into  a  binding  contract,  except  for  necessaries. 

The  contracts  of  a  minor  are  not  void,  but  voidable. 

A  void  contract  is  one  binding  on  neither  party,  while  a  voidable  con- 
tract is  binding  on  the  adult,  but  not  on  the  minor,  who  may,  during  his 
minority,  or  within  a  reasonable  time  after  he  becomes  of  age,  avoid  the 
contract,  if  he  so  desires.  A  minor  may  make  a  binding  contract  for  neces 
saries  for  both  himself  and  for  his  wife  and  children. 

The  word  ' '  necessaries  "  includes  food,  clothing,  shelter,  medical  atten- 
dance, and  other  provisions  for  health  and  education. 

The  "  necessaries  "  for  a  minor  depend  largely  upon  his  social  position. 
In  some  cases  watches  and  jewelry  are  regarded  as  necessaries.  Although 
the  law  requires  the  minor  to  pay  the  value  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  it  does 
not  bind  him  necessarily  to  pay  the  price  set  by  the  tradesman.  The 
jury  are  to  determine  the  value  and  the  price  where  the  bill  is  dis- 
puted. 

If  a  minor  gives  his  note  for  necessaries,  although  he  is  held  on  the  note 
he  can  be  compelled  to  pay  only  the  value  of  the  necessaries.  If  a  rninof 
enlists  in  the  army  or  navy  he  can  not  avoid  the  enlistment. 

He  is  liable  for  his  frauds  and  torts. 

If  a  minor  fraudulently  represents  that  he  is  above  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  and  by  means  of  these  representations  obtains  credit  for  goods  not 
necessaries,  an  action  for  fraud  may  at  once  be  maintained. 

If  the  articles  are  sold  to  a  minor  without  fraudulent  representations, 
and  are  in  his  possession  when  he  rescinds  the  sale,  the  seller  may  retake 
them. 

If  a  ninor  makes  a  voidable  contract  and  advances  money  on  it,  and 
afterward  avoids  it,  he  can  not  recover  back  the  money  so  advanced. 

A  minor  can  not  disaffirm  his  contracts  in  relation  to  real  property  until 
he  becomes  of  age.  To  confirm  a  contract  touching  real  estate  some  posi- 
tive act  is  required.  A  minor  or  his  personal  representatives  are  the  only 
ones  who  can  take  advantage  of  his  minority. 

As  a  general  rule,  no  male  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  nor  female 
under  the  age  of  sixteen  years  can  make  a  will  of  personal  property.  Both 
must  be  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  to  will  real  property. 


468       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  responsibility  of  a  minor  under  tho  age  of  fourteen  years  rests  on 
evidence  of  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  act  committed. 

Servants. — A  servant  is  a  person  who  lets,  hires,  or  engages  his  or  her 
services  to  another  to  be  employed  at  some  particular  occupation  or  at  any 
occupation  for  the  benefit  of  the  employer,  for  a  certain  sum. 

The  servant  must  render  services  for  the  entire  time  of  the  contract,  and 
on  this  depends  his  right  to  recover  wages.  Thus,  if  A  should  agree  to 
work  for  B  for  one  year  and  should  leave  without  cause  before  that  period 
had  expired,  he  could  not  recover  on  his  contract. 

The  master  must  employ  the  servant  for  the  entire  time  of  the  contract, 
and  should  he  discharge  him  without  cause  he  would  be  liable  to  a  suit  for 
damages.  It  would  be  the  duty  of  a  servant  in  a  case  of  this  nature  to  en- 
deavor to  secure  employment  and  thus  reduce  the  amount  of  the  damages. 
If  he  should  fail  to  secure  employment,  his  damages  would  be  the  amount 
of  wages  he  would  have  received  had  he  not  been  discharged. 

If  before  the  expiration  of  the  term  the  servant  leaves  without  cause  he 
forfeits  his  wages. 

The  master  may  dismiss  the  servant  before  the  expiration  of  his  time  for 
willful  disobedience,  immoral  conduct,  habitual  neglect,  and  the  servant 
will  not  be  entitled  to  recover  his  wages. 

The  master  must  furnish  the  servant  with  suitable  tools  and  implements 
of  labor,  and  will  be  liable  for  injury  which  may  result  to  the  servant  from 
any  defectiveness  in  such  tools  which  was  known  to  him.  If  the  servant's 
negligence  contributed  to  the  injury  he  can  not  recover. 

If  the  tools  and  implements  are  not  defective  the  master  will  not  in  gen- 
eral be  responsible,  as  the  servant  is  supposed  to  take  into  consideration 
the  risks  when  he  agrees  for  certain  wages  to  accept  the  position.  The 
master  must  use  reasonable  care  in  selecting  competent  and  trusty  servants. 

Where  proper  care  has  been  exercised  in  the  selection  of  servants,  the 
master  is  not  responsible  for  an  injury  caused  to  one  servant  by  the  care- 
lessness of  another  while  both  are  engaged  in  the  same  service. 

The  master  is  bound  by  all  contracts  made  by  the  servant  within  the 
scope  of  his  authority.  He  is  not  bound  to  provide  medicines  and  attend- 
ance in  case  the  servant  is  sick. 

The  master  is  responsible  for  what  his  servant  does  during  his  regular 
employment.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  fulfillment  of  contracts. 

He  is  liable  for  injuries  occasioned  by  the  neglect  or  unskillfulness  or  the 
injurious  acts  of  the  servant  during  his  regular  employment. 

In  order  to  hold  the  master  the  act  must  be  negligent  and  done  during 
the  servant's  employment. 

Real  Property — Eeal  property  is  something  which  may  be  held  by 
tenure,  or  which  will  pass  to  the  heir  of  the  possessor  at  his  death. 

It  includes  lands,  tenements,  and  hereditaments,  or,  in  other  words,  it 
includes  the  land  and  ordinarily  whatever  is  erected,  or  growing,  upon  the 
same,  as  well  as  whatever  is  contained  within  it,  or  beneath  its  surface,  as 
minerals,  etc.  Whatever  is  erected  on  the  land  by  the  owner  is  real  prop- 
erty, and  passes  with  the  land.  Growing  crops  planted  by  the  owner  of  the 
soil  are  real  property,  but,  if  sold  by  him  when  fit  for  harvest,  they  become 
personal  property.  Manure  made  upon  the  farm  in  the  usual  manner,  by 
consumption  of  its  products,  would  be  real  property;  so  also  whatever  is 
fitted  for,  and  actually  applied  to,  real  estate,  if  of  permanent  nature. 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  469 

Personal  Property. — Personal  property  is  the  right  or  interest  which 
a  man  has  in  things  personal.  It  consists  in  general  of  everything  which  a 
man  can  move  around  with  him,  such  as  household  turniture,  checks,  notes, 
bonds,  mortgages,  books,  copyrights,  patents,  stock  of  goods  in  a  store,  cat- 
tle, tools,  farming  utensils,  hay,  fodder,  and  whatever  erections  he  may  put 
on  land  which  have  not  become  fixtures. 

The  personal  property  of  a  person  who  dies  without  a  will  goes  to  the 
next  of  kin,  and  is  divided  up  among  them  according  to  the  statue  of  dis- 
tributions in  the  several  States. 

Whatever  is  erected  on  the  lands  of  another  by  permission  of  the  owner 
is  personal  property;  so  also  whatever  a  tenant  erects  for  trade,  domestic 
or  manufacturing  purposes,  provided  it  can  be  removed  without  too  great 
damage  and  is  removed  within  a  reasonable  time. 

Growing  crops  sold  by  the  owner  when  fit  for  harvesting  are  personal 
property;  so  also  are  crops  planted  by  a  tenant,  if  fit  for  harvesting,  or  if 
his  term  of  tenancy  is  uncertain. 

Trees  sold  to  be  cut,  without  any  right  to  have  them  stand  to  occupy  the 
land  and  trees  growing  in  a  nursery,  are  personal  property. 

Landlord  and  Tenant — The  term  "  Landlord  and  Tenant "  is  used 
to  denote  the  relation  which  exists  by  reason  of  a  contract,  expressed  or 
implied,  between  two  or  more  persons  for  the  possession  or  occupation  ol 
lands,  houses,  or  tenements,  either  for  a  certain  fixed  time,  for  life  or  at 
will. 

The  instrument  for  creating  and  defining  this  relation  is  called  a  lease. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  contract  for  hiring  real  estate  be  reduced  to 
writing  if  it  does  not  exceed  one  year. 

The  relation  of  landlord  and  tenant  is  implied  whenever  there  is  an 
ownership  of  land  in  one,  and  an  occupation  of  it  by  permission  by  another. 

The  existence  of  this  relation  may  be  inferred  by  receiving  rent  from  the 
occupant. 

If  there  is  a  lease,  the  rights  and  obligations  of  the  parties  are  regarded 
as  commencing  from  the  date  of  the  lease  if  no  other  time  has  been  agreed 
upon,  or  from  the  delivery  of  the  papers.  If  the  lease  be  oral,  it  will  go 
into  effect  from  the  day  the  tenant  enters  and  takes  possession.  The  right 
of  possession  remains  in  the  landlord  until  the  tenant  enters,  when  the  right 
passes  over  to  him,  and  remains  in  him  during  his  tenancy. 

The  landlord  can  bring  an  action  for  any  permanent  injury  to  his  prop- 
erty, such  as  destroying  fences,  cutting  timber,  or  breaking  doors  and  win- 
dows. He  can  go  on  the  premises  for  the  purpose  of  making  repairs  and 
demanding  rent,  but  must  use  no  force  to  effect  an  entrance. 

The  landlord  is  not  liable  for  any  injury  which  may  result  to  a  stranger 
or  to  his  property  from  neglect  to  repair,  unless  he  expressly  agreed  to  keep 
the  premises  in  repair. 

If  the  landlord  agrees  to  repair,  and  fails  to  do  so,  the  tenant  cannot  quit 
and  discharge  himself  from  payment  of  rent  unless  it  is  agreed  between  the 
parties  that  a  failure  to  repair  on  the  part  oi  the  landlord  is  to  have  such 
effect.  The  agreement  to  pay  rent  and  the  agreement  to  repair  are  inde- 
pendent of  each  other.  The  landlord  can  not  violate  the  rights  of  his  ten- 
ant by  a  sale  of  the  property. 

The  tenant  is  entitled  to  quiet  possession  of  the  premises,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  landlord  to  see  that  he  is  not  disturbed  by  one  having  a  better 
title.  The  landlord  must  not  disturb  the  tenant.  Unless  it  is  otherwise 


470       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFffL 

agreed  upon,  the  landlord  must  pay  the  taxes  and  assessments  on  the 
premises. 

The  landlord  is  under  no  obligation  to  repair  unless  he  expressly  agrees 
to  do  so,  nor  can  the  tenant  make  the  repairs  at  the  expense  of  the  landlord. 

After  the  tenant  has  entered,  the  right  of  possession  passes  to  him  and 
he  can  bring  an  action  against  any  person  who  trespasses  on  his  premises, 
or  disturbs  him  in  his  possession  of  them.  He  is  obliged  to  repair  fences 
and  public  roads,  and  is  liable  for  injury  which  may  result  from  their  ruin- 
ous condition. 

The  tenant  must  so  manage  his  property  that  others  are  not  injured 
by  it. 

He  must  do  the  property  no  substantial  injury,  and  is  bound  to  make 
general  repairs  without  an  agreement,  and  must  keep  the  premises  in  ten- 
antable  condition.  He  must  keep  the  buildings  wind  and  water  tight,  keep 
the  fences  in  repair,  and  replace  doors  and  windows  broken  during  his 
occupation.  He  is  not  answerable  for  ordinary  wear  and  tear,  nor  is  he 
compelled  to  put  a  new  roof  on  a  building. 

The  tenant  of  a  farm  is  bound  without  express  covenant  to  manage  and 
cultivate  it  in  a  good  and  husbandlike  manner,  and  to  repair  the  fences  and 
and  to  keep  the  dwelling-house  in  repair.  The  outbuildings  and  erections 
on  the  farm  must  be  repaired  and  kept  up  by  the  landlord  or  the  tenant, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  country  where  the  farm  is  situated. 

The  tenant  must  preserve  the  timber  and  ornamental  trees. 

His  chief  duty  is  to  pay  rent,  and  it  is  no  answer  to  a  demand  for  rent 
that  the  premises  are  not  in  a  fit  and  proper  state  for  the  purposes  for  which 
they  were  hired.  In  the  absence  of  a  particular  agreement  between  the 
parties,  the  tenant  pays  for  the  time  he  has  had  possession  of  the  premises. 
If  he  is  deprived  of  possession  by  a  person  having  a  title  superior  to  that  of 
his  landlord,  or  if  his  occupation  of  the  premises  is  rendered  so  uncom- 
fortable by  acts  on  the  part  of  the  landlord  as  to  justify  his  removal,  he 
cannot  be  forced  to  pay  rent. 

If  the  tenant  substitutes  another  tenant  hi  his  stead  without  the  consent 
of  the  landlord,  he  is  still  liable  for  the  payment  of  rent. 

A  tenancy  for  life  terminates  at  the  death  of  the  life  tenant. 

If  a  person  enters  into  possession  with  the  consent  of  the  landlord,  but 
without  any  express  bargain,  h«  becomes  a  tenant  at  will. 

A  tenancy  at  will  may  be  determined  by  the  will  of  either  party. 

Either  party  is  entitled  to  reasonable  notice  before  the  tenancy  can  be 
terminated. 

It  is  a  general  rule  that  in  the  absence  of  statutes  notice  must  cover  the 
whole  of  one  of  the  regular  intervals  between  payments. 

A  notice  of  but  one  month  is  sufficient  in  New  York. 

A  tenancy  from  year  to  year  can  only  be  terminated  by  a  similar  notice 
And  for  a  like  time. 

Where  the  lease  is  for  a  definite  period,  no  notice  is  necessary.  No  par- 
ticular form  of  notice  is  necessary. 

In  a  notice  to  quit  there  must  be  a  reasonable  certainty  hi  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  premises  of  the  parties  and  in  the  statement  of  the  time  when 
the  tenant  must  quit.  A  tenancy  may  be  terminated  by  a  purchase  of  the 
property  by  the  tenant,  and  also  by  a  surrender  of  the  lease  by  the  tenant 
and  an  acceptance  of  it  by  the  landlord. 

After  the  tenancy  has  ended,  the  landlord  may  re-enter  upon  the  prem- 
i*es  if  ke  can  do  so  without  violence. 


LAW   FOR    THE    MASSES.  471 

If  the  tenant  holds  over,  the  landlord  should  call  in  the  law  to  assist 
him  in  getting  possession. 

The  tenant  must  yield  up  quiet  possession. 

If  a  tenant's  estate  is  terminated  by  an  uncertain  event,  as, 
for  instance,  if  he  is  a  tenant  at  will  or  from  year  to  year,  he  is 
entitled  to  the  crops  growing  at  the  time  of  the  termination  of  the 
tenancy. 

Whatever  the  tenant  erects  on  the  premises  with  the  consent  of  the  land- 
lord, he  can  take  away  with  him.  Whatever  he  erects  with  the  consent  of 
the  landlord  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  premises,  he  can  remove  at 
the  expiration  of  his  tenancy.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  what- 
ever he  has  erected  during  his  occupation  for  his  comfort,  profit, 
or  convenience,  he  may  remove,  if  he  can  do  so  without  injuring  the 
premises,  unless  he  has  so  connected  it  with  the  premises  as  to  become 
a  part  thereof. 

Leases. — A  lease  is  a  contract  for  the  possession  and  profits  of  lands 
and  tenements,  either  for  life  or  for  a  certain  fixed  time,  or  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  parties. 

Leases  must  be  drawn  and  signed  in  duplicate,  each  party  retaining  a 
copy. 

The  party  making  the  lease  is  called  the  lessor;  he  to  whom  it  is  made 
the  lessee. 

A  lease  must  be  for  a  shorter  period  than  the  duration  of  the  lessor's 
interest  in  the  land. 

The  formal  parts  of  a  lease  by  deed  are  the  date,  the  names  of  the  par- 
ties, the  consideration,  the  description  of  the  premises,  and,  lastly,  express 
covenants,  if  any,  are  to  be  inserted. 

Leases  generally  have  a  forfeiture  clause  in  case  the  tenant  refuses  to 
pay  rent  or  breaks  any  of  the  covenants.  The  forfeiture  clause  permits  the 
landlord  to  re-enter  and  eject  the  tenant. 

If  the  lease  is  for  a  period  exceeding  one  year  it  should  be  in  writing, 
and  the  parties  should,  as  a  general  rule,  have  it  recorded. 

Leases  of  agricultural  lauds  for  more  than  twelve  years  are  prohibited 
in  the  State  of  New  York. 

If  it  is  intended  that  the  lessee  shall  insure  the  premises,  there  should 
be  a  covenant  to  that  efiect  on  his  part,  which  should  state  in  whose  name 
the  insurance  is  to  be  effected,  and  for  what  amount.  Obligations  to  repair 
depend  on  the  terms  of  the  lease.  The  lessee  must  keep  the  premises  in 
as  good  a  state  of  repair  as  when  he  took  possession,  subject,  however,  to 
the  ordinary  wear  and  tear.  He  is  not  obliged  to  improve  a  dilapidated 
building. 

The  lessee  is  not  obliged  to  rebuild  a  building  which  has  been  accident- 
ally destroyed  by  fire. 

If  a  lessee  enters  into  a  general  covenant  to  repair  without  making  any 
exceptions,  he  is  bound  to  restore  any  building  which  may  be  destroyed  by 
tempest,  lightning,  fire,  or  other  accident. 

Leases  usually  contain  a  covenant  by  the  lessee  not  to  assign  or  under- 
let without  the  consent  of  the  lessor. 

A  lease  may  be  terminated  at  any  time  before  the  expiration  of  the  term, 
if  the  premises  are  taken  for  public  uses,  or  are  wholly  destroyed,  or  are 
used  for  purposes  of  ill- fame.  The  same  result  would  follow  should  the 
the  tenant  purchase  the  property- 


472      CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VSUfVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

LEASE  WITH  BIGHT  TO  BE-ENTEB    IN  CASE   DEFAULT   SHALL  BE  MADE    IN  ANT 
OF  THE  COVENANTS  OB  IN  PAYMENT  OF  BENT. 

This  indenture,  made  the  day  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
•nd  between  A.  B.,  of  county  of  State  of  party  of  the  first 
part,  and  C.  D.,  of  county  of  State  of  party  of  the  second  part, 
Witnesseth:  That  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  has  letten,  and  by  these 
presents  does  grant,  demise,  and  to  farm  let,  unto  the  said  party  of  the 
second  part  [here  insert  a  description  of  the  property],  with  the  appur- 
tenances, for  the  term  of  from  the  day  of  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  at  the  yearly  rent  or  sum  of  dollars,  to  be  paid  in 
equal  [weekly,  monthly  or  quarterly]  payments. 

And  it  is  agreed  that  if  any  rent  shall  be  due  and  unpaid  for  days 

after  the  same  is  due,  or  if  default  shall  be  made  in  any  of  the  covenants 
herein  contained,  then  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  party  of  the  first  part 
to  re-enter  the  said  premises,  and  to  remove  all  persons  therefrom.  And 
the  said  party  of  the  second  part  does  covenant  to  pay  to  the  said  party  of 
the  first  part,  the  said  yearly  rent  as  herein  specified.  And  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  said  term,  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  will  quit  and  sur- 
render the  premises  hereby  demised,  in  as  good  state  and  condition  as 
reasonable  use  and  wear  thereof  will  permit,  damages  by  the  elements 
excepted.  And  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  does  covenant  that  the  said 
party  of  the  second  part,  on  paying  the  said  yearly  rent,  and  performing  the 
covenants  aforesaid,  shall  and  may  peaceably  and  quietly  have,  hold  and 
enjoy  the  said  demised  premises,  for  the  term  aforesaid. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals  this 
day  of          in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  .  A.  B.  [Seal.] 

C.  D.  [Seal.] 

Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
[Signatures  of  witnesses.] 

Partnership. — A  partnership  exists  when  two  or  more  persons  com- 
bine their  property,  labor  and  skill,  or  one  or  more  of  them,  in  the  trans- 
action of  business  for  their  common  profit. 

The  partnership  may  be  special  or  confined  by  the  articles  of  agreement 
to  a  single  transaction,  or  one  or  more  particular  lines  of  business. 

The  partnership  is  general  when  it  is  confined  to  no  stated  line  of  busi- 
ness. In  the  absence  of  stipulations  as  to  the  kind  of  partnership,  and  when 
there  is  no  evidence  from  the  course  of  trade,  a  partnership  is  presumed  to 
be  general. 

The  partners  may  own  all  the  property  of  the  firm  together,  or  one  part- 
ner may  put  in  all  the  capital  and  the  other  furnish  the  skill  or  time  in 
managing  the  business.  Any  one  is  a  partner  who  participates  in  the  profits 
and  losses  of  the  firm  by  agreement. 

The  partners  ar«  individually  liable  for  the  debts  of  the  firm  after  the 
partnership  funds  kave  been  exhausted. 

A  person  may  in  most  ol  the  States  become  a  special  partner  and  limit 
his  liability  to  the  possible  loss  of  the  amount  of  capital  contributed  by  him. 
In  case  of  such  a  limited  partnership,  the  partner  must  conform  to  the 
requirements  of  the  statutes  or  he  will  be  held  as  a  general  partner. 

There  must  be  general  partners,  and  the  names  of  the  special  partners 
must  not  appear  in  the  firm  name.  They  have  all  the  duties  and  powers  of 
active  partners. 

The  rule  of  personal  liability  being  general,  such  other  arrangement  must 
be  in  writing,  acknowledged  before  some  magistrate  and  recorded  and 
advertised  so  that  it  will  be  actually  or  constructively  known  to  all  dealing 
with  the  firm. 


LAW  FOR    TltE   MASSES.  473 

A  partnership  may  hold  real  estate  for  the  purposes  of  the  business  or 
for  the  common  profit,  and  in  as  far  as  it  is  partnership  property,  it  ia 
treated  as  personal  property  and  is  chargeable  with  the  debts  of  the  firm. 
Land  purchased  with  the  funds  of  the  firm  is  liable  for  its  debts. 

Joint  ownership  of  property,  however,  does  not  necessarily  make  a  part- 
nership. It  must  be  dealt  with  as  a  basis  or  means  of  making  money  to  in- 
dicate a  partnership. 

Giving  employees  a  share  in  the  profits  of  the  business  as  compensation 
for  services  does  not  make  such  employees  partners,  and  hence  liable  for 
the  firm's  debts.  Partners  own  the  profits  as  they  arise,  not  after  the  per- 
formance of  stated  services. 

No  writing  nor  express  agreement  is  necessary  to  constitute  a  partner- 
ship. When  men  join  property  and  efforts  in  any  enterprise  for  profit,  the 
law  lays  down  a  code  of  rules.  It  recognizes  a  partnership  no  matter  what 
the  name  used,  even  if  the  name  of  one  only  of  the  partners  appears.  All 
of  the  parties  share  the  profits  and  losses  equally,  unless  otherwise  stip- 
ulated. Each  can  represent  all,  and  can  bind  the  company  in  any  partner- 
ship business  or  in  any  transaction  which  seems  to  be  within  the  scope  of 
the  partnership  business. 

Any  one  of  the  partners  may  terminate  the  partnership  at  any  time,  un- 
less it  is  for  a  stated  period  of  time.  The  death  or  insolvency  of  any  one  of 
the  partners  in  itself  produces  the  same  result.  When  a  company  is  wound 
up  and  any  of  the  partners  are  dissatisfied  with  their  allotted  share  of  the 
assets,  they  may  apply  to  the  court  for  a  receiver,  who  shall  convert  the  firm 
property  into  money,  and  under  the  direction  of  the  court  divide  the  pro- 
ceeds according  to  the  contribution  of  each  partner  to  the  capital  of  the  firm. 
It  is  advisable  to  have  the  partnership  agreement  in  writing,  although  a 
partnership  may  be  formed  without  a  written  agreement. 

In  any  case  partners  have  a  very  broad  power  of  acting  for  each  other. 
Either  may  deal  with  the  common  property  as  if  he  were  the  owner.  He 
can  bind  the  firm  by  notes  signed  in  the  firm  name,  and  can  contract  debts 
in  its  name. 

All  the  partners  must  join  in  executing  a  sealed  instrument  in  the  name 
of  the  firm,  and  in  making  a  general  assignment  for  the  benefit  of  creditors, 
with  preferences. 

Dissolution  may  be  provided  for  by  the  articles  of  partnership,  or  may 
take  place  by  the  insanity,  death,  or  other  absolute  incapacity  of  one  of  the 
partners,  or  by  his  assignment  of  his  interest  to  a  stranger. 

After  the  dissolution  and  a  notice  of  the  same  to  the  public  at  large 
through  the  papers,  and  special  notices  to  all  customers  and  correspondents, 
no  partner  can  increase  or  continue  the  liabilities  of  the  other  members, 
nor  is  he  bound  for  any  further  debts  of  the  firm. 

Joint  stock  companies  are  partnerships  whose  capital  is  divided  up  into 
shares  which  are  assignable,  but  in  this  country  corporations  are  so  gen- 
erally resorted  to  that  these  are  rarely  formed. 

Highways.  —A  highway  is  every  passage,  road,  bridge  or  street,  which 
a  citizen  has  a  right  to  use. 

Highways  are  created  by  a  legislative  act,  by  necessity,  and  by  dedica- 
tion. When  private  property  is  taken  by  a  legislative  act  for  a  highway,  a 
just  compensation  is  given,  which  amount  is  usually  determined  by  a  jury, 
or  by  commissioners. 

If  a  highway  becomes  impassable  from  any  cause,  the  public  hare 


iU       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    VSEFVL    KNOWLEDGE. 

a  right  to  go  on  the  adjoining  land,  even  though  there  is  a  crop  on  the 
same. 

The  owner  of  land  may  dedicate  it  to  the  public  for  a  highway  by  allow- 
ing it  to  be  used  as  such  without  exercising  control  over  it.  The  dedica- 
tion may  be  evidenced  by  deed  or  by  act  of  the  owner,  or  his  silent  acquies- 
cence in  its  use  for  twenty  years.  There  may  be  a  gift  of  the  land  on  the 
part  of  the  owner  and  acceptance  on  the  part  of  the  public. 

By  taking  or  accepting  laud  for  a  highway,  the  public  acquires  only  the 
right  of  way,  and  the  incidents  necessary  to  enjoying  and  maintaining  it, 
subject  to  the  regulation  of  the  towns.  All  trees  within  the  highway,  except 
only  such  as  are  requisite  to  make  or  repair  the  road  or  bridges,  on  the 
same  land,  all  grass  thereon,  and  the  minerals  below,  are  for  the  use  of  the 
owner  or  occupant  of  the  land. 

The  owners  of  the  land  on  the  opposite  sides  own  to  the  center  of.  the 
highways.  If  at  any  time  the  highway  is  abandoned  the  owner  recovers 
the  land. 

The  liability  to  repair  is  determined  by  statute,  and,  as  a  general  rule, 
devolves  upon  the  towns. 

The  commissioners  of  highways  in  the  several  towns  have  the  care  and 
superintendence  of  the  highways  and  bridges  within  their  respective  towns. 
It  is  their  duty  to  repair  the  bridges  and  roads  and  to  regulate  and  alter 
such  of  them  as  a  majority  of  the  commissioners  shall  deem  inconvenient; 
to  divide  their  respective  towns  into  so  many  road  districts  as  they  shall 
deem  convenient;  to  assign  to  each  of  the  said  road  districts  such  of  the  in- 
habitants liable  to  work  on  highways  as  they  shall  think  proper,  having  re- 
gard to  the  proximity  of  residence  as  much  as  may  be. 

It  is  their  duty  to  require  the  overseers  of  highways  from  time  to  time, 
and  as  often  as  they  shall  deem  necessary,  to  warn  all  persons  assessed  to 
work  on  the  highways  to  come  and  work  thereon;  to  lay  out  on  actual  sur- 
vey such  new  roads  in  their  respective  towns  as  they  may  deem  necessary 
and  proper,  and  to  discontinue  such  old  roads  as  shall  appear  to  them  on 
the  oath  of  twelve  freeholders  of  the  same  town  to  have  become  unneces- 
sary; to  cause  mile-boards  or  stones  to  be  erected  on  such  public  roads  as 
they  may  deem  proper  to  repair  and  keep  in  order. 

It  is  the  duty  of  overseers  of  highways  in  each  town  to  repair  and  keep 
in  order  the  highways  in  the  several  districts  for  which  they  were  elected; 
to  warn  all  persons  assessed  to  work  on  the  highways  in  their  respective 
districts;  to  cause  all  noxious  weeds  within  the  highway  to  be  cut  down  or 
destroyed,  twice  in  each  year;  to  collect  all  fines  and  commutation  money; 
to  cause  all  loose  stones  lying  on  the  beaten  track  of  every  road  to  be  re- 
moved; to  keep  up  and  renew  the  mile-stones  and  guide-posts;  when  neces- 
sary, to  make  another  assessment  on  the  residents  in  the  town  to  keep  the 
roads  in  repair. 

Every  person  owning  or  occupying  land  in  the  town  in  which  he  or  she 
resides,  and  every  male  inhabitant  over  twenty-one  yeais,  residing  in  the 
town  where  the  assessment  is  made,  shall  be  assessed  to  work  on  the  roads 
in  such  town,  and  all  moneyed  or  stock  corporations,  and  the  land  of  non- 
residents within  any  town,  are  subject  to  assessment  for  highway  labor. 
Ministers  of  the  gospel,  paupers,  idiots,  and  lunatics  are  exempt  from  high- 
way labor. 

Any  person  liable  to  highway  labor  may  commute  for  the  same  in  whole 
or  in  part,  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  per  day,  to  be  paid  to  the  overseer  with- 
in twenty-four  hours  after  receiving  the  notice  to  appear  and  work. 


LA  IF  FOB    THE   MASSES.  475 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  overseer  to  give  twenty-four  hours'  notice  to  persons 
assessed  to  highway  labor. 

Every  person  refusing  or  neglecting  to  appear  and  work  when  notified 
by  the  highway  overseer  is  subject  to  a  fine  for  each  day,  and  every  hour 
such  person  or  his  substitute  may  be  delinquent.  If  any  such  person  or  sub- 
stitute shall  remain  idle,  or  not  work  faithfully  or  hinder  others  from  work, 
euch  offender  shall  for  every  offence  forfeit  the  sum  of  one  dollar. 

Overseers  shall  have  power  to  require  a  cart,  wagon,  or  plow,  with  a 
pair  of  horses  or  oxen,  and  a  person  to  manage  them,  from  any  person  hav- 
ing the  same  within  his  district;  if  he  furnish  them,  according  to  order,  he 
will  be  entitled  to  a  credit  of  three  days  for  each  day's  service  therewith. 
If  he  neglect  or  refuse  to  furnish  them,  he  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  three  dollars 
per  day  for  each  day  that  he  may  be  assessed. 

No  private  road  can  be  laid  out  over  the  lands  of  any  person  without  his 
consent  or  the  decision  of  a  jury. 

When  a  commissioner  of  highways  has  determined  to  lay  out  a  new 
highway,  or  to  alter  or  discontinue  an  old  road,  he  must  file  such  deter- 
mination in  writing  at  the  office  of  the  town  clerk. 

Any  person  aggrieved  by  any  determination  of  the  commissioner  of 
highways,  either  in  laying  out,  altering,  or  discontinuing  any  road,  or  in 
refusing  to  lay  out,  alter,  or  discontinue  any  road,  may,  at  any  time  within 
sixty  days  after  the  commissioner's  determination  shall  have  been  filed, 
appeal  to  the  judge  of  the  county,  who  shall  appoint  three  disinterested 
freeholders,  residents  of  the  county,  but  not  of  the  town,  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine the  appeal. 

Trespass. — A  trespass  is  any  wrong-doing,  or  act  of  one  person  where- 
by another  is  injuriously  treated  or  made  to  sustain  damages. 

Its  more  primary  signification  is  any  unlawful  act  committed  with  vio- 
lence to  the  person,  property,  or  rights  of  another. 

Another  restricted  sense  is  any  unauthorized  entry  on  the  real  estate  of 
another. 

An  act  may  be  trespass  though  no  damage  be  done,  though  damage  is 
necessary  to  make  a  cause  of  action  against  the  trespasser  on  the  land  of 
another  person;  the  breaking  of  a  blade  of  grass  is  said  to  be  enough  to 
constitute  a  trespass. 

An  action  for  trespass  may  be  brought  for  personal  injury,  such  as  as- 
sault, battery,  wounding,  imprisonment  and  the  like,  for  injuries  to  the 
person  of  another,  directly  injuring  the  complainant  in  his  rights  as  a  mas- 
ter, parent,  etc.,  for  injuries  to  personal  property  in  taking  it  away;  strik- 
ing or  chasing,  if  alive,  and  carrying  away  personal  property,  to  the  damage 
of  the  plaintiff. 

Trespass  on  real  property  is  consequent  on  entering,  without  right,  on 
another's  inclosure,  though  there  may  be  none  but  an  imaginary  fence. 

Easement.— Easement  is  a  right  which  the  owner  of  one  parcel  of  land 
has  by  reason  of  his  ownership  to  use  the  land  of  another  for  a  special  pur- 
pose not  inconsistent  with  a  general  property  in  the  owner,  or,  in  other 
words,  it  is  the  privilege  without  a  profit  which  the  owner  of  one  piece  of 
land  has  in  the  land  of  another. 

The  land  to  which  the  right  attaches  is  called  the  dominant  estate,  while 
that  in  or  over  which  the  right  is  to  be  exercised  is  called  the  servient  estate. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  many  easements: 


476       CYCLOPEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  right  of  way  which  the  owner  of  one  piece  of  land  has  over  the  land 
of  another;  the  right  of  receiving  and  discharging  water  over  the  land  of  an- 
other; the  right  of  having  support  to  buildings  from  the  land  of  another;  the 
right  of  the  owner  of  one  piece  of  land  to  have  the  natural  flow  of  water  pass 
from  his  land  over  the  land  of  another;  the  right  to  go  on  the  land  of  another 
and  clear  a  mill  stream  or  repair  its  banks;  also  the  right  to  light  and  air. 

The  right  of  the  public  to  use  a  highway  is  an  easement. 

An  easement  frequently  arises  from  a  continued  use  for  a  long  period  «f 
time.  The  use  in  this  case  must  be  adverse,  continued,  and  uninterrupted 
for  the  requisite  period  of  time  (usually  twenty  years),  as,  for  example,  the 
continued  and  uninterrupted  use  by  the  public  of  a  road  for  twenty  years. 

Easements  are  divided  into  two  classes  --affirmative  and  negative. 

Affirmative  easements  are  those  where  the  servient  estate  must  permit 
something  to  be  done  thereon,  as,  for  example,  to  pass  over  it  or  to  di&- 
charge  water  upon  it. 

Negative  easements  are  those  where  the  owner  of  the  servient  estate  is 
prohibited  from  doing  something  otherwise  lawful  on  his  estate  because  it 
will  affect  the  dominant  estate,  as  for  example,  excavating  his  land  and  there- 
by removing  the  support  of  a  building  standing  on  the  dominant  estate. 

All  easements  must  originate  in  an  express  grant,  an  implied  grant,  or, 
in  prescription. 

These  easements  may  be  extinguished  by  abandonment,  release,  and  by 
merger,  as,  for  instance,  where  the  owner  of  the  one  estate  acquires  the 
title  to  the  other. 

Libel  and  Slander. — Libel  and  slander  are  injuries  to  one's  reputa- 
tion. Libel  is  that  which  is  written  or  printed,  which  reflects  on  the 
character  of  another  and  is  published  without  lawful  justification  or  excuse, 
whatever  the  intention  may  have  been;  or  in  other  words,  it  is  inflamma- 
tory matter  addressed  to  the  eye. 

Pictures,  effigies  and  other  visible  signs  may  be  libelous. 

Slander  differs  from  libel  hi  that  it  is  addressed  to  the  ear.  Criminal 
libel  is  a  malicious  defamatory  matter  made  known  to  a  third  person  by 
writing,  by  pictures,  or  by  signs  which  are  calculated  to  injure  the  living, 
to  blacken  the  memory  of  the  dead,  and  to  hold  them  up  to  hatred,  con- 
tempt and  ridicule. 

Civil  libel  is  a  malicious  defamatory  matter  made  known  to  a  third  person 
by  writing,  by  pictures,  or  by  false  signs,  which  are  intended  to  injure  the 
living,  or  any  publication  which  has  a  tendency  to  disturb  the  public  peace 
or  the  good  order  of  society. 

It  is  a  slander  to  charge  a  person  with  being  guilty  of  a  crime,  or  with 
having  some  contagious  disease  which  renders  him  unfit  for  society;  or  to 
make  a  charge  which  affects  a  person  hi  his  trade,  profession  or  business. 

In  these  three  cases  it  is  not  necessary  to  prove  that  the  person  slandered 
has  suffered  special  damages.  In  all  other  cases  of  slander  by  speaking 
defamatory  words,  special  damages  must  be  proved. 

The  slander  is  supposed  to  be  false  until  the  contrary  is  shown. 

The  slander  must  be  published,  which  is  done  when  communicated  to  a 
third  person. 

A  repetition  of  a  slander  already  in  circulation,  renders  the  person 
repeating  it  liable  to  an  action. 

Malice,  which  is  essential  to  support  an  action  for  slander,  is  always 
presumed  until  the  contrary  is  proved. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLA- 
NEOUS. 


Population  of  American  Cities.— The  following  table  gives  tha 
population  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States  according  to  the  cen- 
sus of  1880: 


New  York,  N.  Y 1,206,500 

Philadelphia,  Pa 846,984 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y 566,680 

Chicago,  111 503,304 

Boston,  Mass 362,535 

St.  Louis,  Mo 350,522 

Baltimore,  Md 332,190 

Cincinnati,  0 255,708 

San  Francisco,  Cal 233,956 

New  Orleans,  La 216,140 

Cleveland,  0 160,142 

Pittsburgh,  Pa 156,381 

Buffaio,N.  Y 155,137 

Washington,  D.  C 147,307 

Newark,  N.  J 136,400 

Louisville,  Ky 123,645 

Jersey  City,  N.  J 120,728 

Detroit,  Mich 116,342 

Milwaukee,  Wis 115,578 

Providence,  R.  I 104,850 

Albany,  N.  Y 90,903 

Rochester,  N.  Y 89,363 

Alleghany.  Pa 78,681 

Indianapolis,  Ind 75,074 

Richmond,  Va 63,803 

New  Haven,  Conn 62,882 

Lowell,  Mass 59,485 

Worcester,  Mass 58,295 

Troy,  N.  Y 56,747 

Kansas  City,  Mo 55,813 

Cambridge,  Mass 52,740 

Syracuse,  N.  Y 61,791 

Columbus.  0 51,665 

Paterson,  N.  J 50,887 

Toledo,  O 50,143 

Fall  River,  Mass 49,006 


Minneapolis,  Minn 46,887 

Reading,  Pa 43,280 

Hartford,  Conn 42,553 

Wilmington,  Del 42,499 

St.  Paul,  Minn 41,498 

Lawrence,  Mass 39,178 

Dayton,  0 38,677 

Lynn,  Mass 38,284 

Denver,  Col 35,630 

Oakland,  Cal 34,556 

Utica,  N.  Y 33,913 

Springfield,  Mass 33,840 

Portland,  Me 33,810 

Memphis,  Tenn 33,593 

Manchester,  N.  H 32,630 

St.  Joseph,  Mo 32,484 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich 32,015 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 31,266 

Harrisburgh,  Pa 30,762 

Savannah,  Ga 30,681 

Omaha,  Neb 30,518 

Trenton,  N.  J 29,910 

Peoria,  111 29,315 

Evansville,  Ind 29,280 

Bridgeport,  Conn 29,148 

Erie,  Pa 27,730 

Quincy,  111 27,275 

><ew  Bedford,  Mass 26,875 

Terre  Haute,  Ind 26,040 

Lancaster,  Pa 25,769 

Wilkesbarre,  Pa 23,339 

Augusta,  Ga 23,023 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 22,408 

Dubuque,  Iowa 22,254 

Auburn,  N.  Y 21,924 

Holyoke,  Mass 21,851 


Area  and  Population  of  the  Continents.— The  area  of  the  five 
continents  of  the  globe,  with  its  population  according  to  the  last  census 
taken,  is  given  in  the  following  table: 


Area. 

Europe 3,830,357  square  miles. 

Asia 16,415,758 

Africa 11,556,650 

N.  and  S.  America 16,014,058 

Australia 4,388,025          " 


Population. 
. .  312,000,000 
.  765,000,000 
. .  188,000,000 
. .  87,000,000 
. .  4,000,000 


478      VYCLOP^DIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Population,  Etc.,  of  the  States  and  Territories.— In  the  follow- 
ing interesting  table  will  be  found  the  population  and  area  in  square  miles 
of  all  the  United  States  and  Territories,  likewise  the  electoral  vote  and  date 
of  admission  to  the  Union  of  each  of  the  several  States: 


STATES. 

Popula- 
tion. 

Area  In 
Square 
Miles. 

Electoral 
Vote. 

Admitted  to 
the  Union. 

Alabama  

1  262  794 

50  722 

10 

Dec.  4,  1818. 

Arkansas  

802564 

52198 

7 

June  15,  1836. 

California  

864  686 

188  981 

8 

Sept.  9,  1850. 

Colorado  

194649 

104,500 

3 

July  4,  1876. 

Connecticut  *  

622  683 

4,674 

6 

Jan.  9,  1788. 

Delaware*  

146  654 

2120 

3 

Dec.  7,  1787. 

Florida  

267  351 

59268 

4 

March  3,  1845. 

Georgia*  

1  539  048 

58,000 

12 

Jan.  2,  1788. 

Illinois  

3  078  769 

55,410 

22 

Dec.  3,  1818. 

Indiana    

1  978  362 

33  809 

15 

Dec.  11  1816. 

Iowa  

1  624  620 

55  045 

13 

Dec.  28,  1846. 

Kansas  

995  966 

81  313 

9 

Jan.  29,  1861. 

Kentucky  

1  648  708 

37  600 

13 

June  1,  1792. 

Louisiana  

940  103 

41  346 

g 

April  8  1812. 

Maine  .  

648  945 

31  776 

6 

March  4  1820. 

Maryland*  

934  632 

11  184 

8 

April  28  1788. 

Massachusetts*  

1  783  012 

7  800 

14 

Feb.  6  1788. 

Michigan  

1  636  331 

56  451 

13 

June  26,  1837. 

780  806 

83  531 

1 

Feb.  26  1858. 

Mississippi  

1  131  592 

47  156 

9 

Dec.  10  1817. 

Missouri  

2'l68'804 

65  350 

16 

March  2  1821. 

Nebraska  

452433 

75  995 

5 

March  1,  1867. 

Nevada  

62265 

112090 

3 

March  21,  1864 

New  Hampshire*  

346  984 

9  280 

4 

June  21  1788. 

New  Jersey*  

1  130  983 

8320 

9 

Dec.  18  1787. 

New  York*  

5  083  810 

47  000 

36 

June  26,  1788. 

North  Carolina*  

1  400  047 

50  704 

11 

Nov.  21,  1789. 

Ohio  

3  198  239 

39964 

23 

Nov.  30,  1802. 

174  767 

95  244 

3 

Feb.  14  1859. 

Pennsylvania*  

4  282  786 

46  000 

30 

Dec.  12  1787. 

Rhode  Island*  

276  528 

1  306 

4 

May  29,  1790. 

South  Carolina*  

995  622 

29385 

9 

May  23  1788. 

Tennessee  

1  542  463 

45  600 

12 

June  1,  1796. 

1  592  574 

237  504 

13 

Dec.  29  1845. 

Vermont  

332  286 

10  212 

4 

March  4  1791. 

Virginia*  

1  512  806 

40  904 

12 

June  26,  1788. 

West  Virginia  

618  443 

23  000 

6 

Dec.  31  1863. 

Wisconsin  

1  315  480 

53  924 

11 

March  3  184*. 

Total  of  States  

49  369  595 

2  054  666 

401 

District  of  Columbia  

177  638 

60 

TERRITORIES. 

40  441 

113  916 

Dakota  

135  180 

147  490 

32  611 

90  932 

Montana  

39157 

143  776 

New  Mexico  

118  430 

121  201 

Utah          

143  906 

80  056 

Washington  

75*120 

69  944 

Wyoming  

20  788 

93  107 

Total  United  States  — 

50,152,866 

2,915,048 

*  One  of  the  thirteen  original  States. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS. 


479 


Area,  Population,  Etc.,  of  the  Principal  Countries  of  the 
World.  —In  the  following  table  are  given  the  area,  population,  national 
debt,  and  names  of  capitals  of  the  principal  countries  of  the  world: 


1 
COUNTRY. 

Sq.  Miles. 

Population. 

National  Debt. 

Capital. 

Chinese  Empire  

3  924  627 

433000000 

Unknown 

Pekin. 

British  Empire  

7  778  347 

237  391  788 

$3  888  907  980 

London. 

Russian  Empire  

8  404  767 

86  952  347 

2  840  597  635 

St.  Pet'sb'rgh. 

United  States  

3  026  504 

50  152  559 

1,942  172  295 

Washington. 

German  Empire  

208,744 

42  727,262 

3,000,000,000 

Berlin. 

Austria-Hungary  

240,940 

37,700,000 

1,625,096,042 

Vienna. 

France  

204,096 

36,905,738 

3,513,724,650 

Paris. 

Japan  

156,604 

33,200,000 

145,000,000 

Tokio. 

G't  Britain  and  Ireland.  . 
Turkey  

121,230 
860  562 

34,160,000 
31  669  147 

3,888,907,980 
1,212  772  200 

London. 
Const'tin'pla. 

Italy  

114406 

27  769  475 

1,977,117,845 

Rome. 

Spain  

105  775 

10835  506 

2,401,612,001 

Madrid. 

Brazil  

13,275,326 

10  108  291 

368,351,139 

R.  de  Janeiro. 

Mexico  

761  640 

9  276  079 

395  000  000 

Mexico. 

Persia  

648000 

6  500  000 

No  Debt. 

Teheran. 

Morocco  

260000 

600000 

3000  000 

Morocco. 

Siam  

310,000 

5  700000 

No  Debt. 

Bangkok. 

Roumauia  

49262 

5  376  000 

90000000 

Burcharest. 

Belgium  '.  

11  373 

5  336  185 

232  684,553 

Brussels. 

Egypt  

212  600 

5  250000 

450  000  000 

Cairo. 

Portugal  

35  812 

4  441  037 

428  997  613 

Lisbon. 

Norway  and  Sweden  
Canada  

170,980 
3  483  952 

4,429,713 
3  602  321 

39,241,142 
112  248  378 

Stockholm. 
Ottawa 

Holland  (Netherlands).  .  . 
Abyssinia  

12,680 
158000 

3,579,529 
3  000  000 

391,242,322 
Unknown. 

Amsterdam. 

Miigdalla. 

Colombia  

432400 

2  951  211 

15390  304 

Bogota. 

Switzerland  

15  991 

2  776  035 

6  225  000 

Peru  

502,760 

2  669  945 

213  402  680 

Chili  .'  

130977 

2  375  971 

60  741  469 

14  553 

1  912  142 

52  000  000 

122,280 

1  806  900 

13  526  128 

368  235 

1  784  197 

62  651  687 

Bolivia  

500  870 

l'  742'  352 

17'  500*000 

Argentine  Republic  

871,000 
18  787 

1,715,681 
1  720  270 

68'416'043 
5  000  000 

Buenos  Ayrea. 

19  941 

1  457  894 

98  012  000 

Guatemala  

40  778 

1  190  754 

3  877  384 

Ecuador  

218  984 

1  100  000 

17'  500'  ooo 

Quito 

Hay  ti  

29000 

1  000  000 

'548'022 

25  000 

1  000  000 

San  Salvador  

9  500 

600  000 

5  000  000 

70  000 

455  000 

43  615  000 

49  000 

300  000 

9  000  000 

Paraguay  

57  223 

221  000 

12*  098*  417 

Honduras  

47  092 

351  700 

37  000  000 

Costa  Rica  

21  495 

185  000 

12  000  000 

i 

i 

Length,  of  the  Principal  Rivers — In  Europe.— The  Danube, 
1,800  miles;  Dnieper,  1,260;  Don,  1,120;  Rhine,  691;  Elbe,  800;  Rhone,  650; 
Volga,  2,800- 

In  Asia.— Ganges,  1,970;  Irrawaddy,  2,600;  Indus,  2,300;  Euphrates, 
1,750;  Araoor,  2,800;  Yang-tse-Kiang,  3,300;  Hoang-Ho,  2,700;  Zambesi,  800; 
Yenesi,  3,250;  Obi,  2,700. 

In  Africa.— Nile,  2,500;  Niger,  2,600;  Senegal,  1,900;  Gambia,  1,700. 

In  America.— Missouri  to  the  Mississippi,  3,100;  Missouri  to  the  Gulf, 
4,350;  Mississippi,  3,160;  Amazon,  3,600;  River  De  La  Plata,  2,240;  St.  Law- 
rence, 2,100;  Orinoco,  1,600;  Rio  Grande,  1,800. 


480       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Presidential  Vote  for  Sixty  Years.— The  following  table  gives 
the  popular  and  electoral  votes  for  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  from 
1824  to  1884  inclusive,  likewise  the  name  of  each  candidate  and  of  the  party 
to  which  he  belonged: 


Tear. 

ffame  of  Candidate. 

Party. 

Papular 
vote. 

Elec. 
vote. 

1824 

Andrew  Jackson  

Democrat  

155  872 

99 

John  Q.  Adams  

Federal  

105  321 

84 

ii 

W.  H.  Crawford  

Republican  

44282 

41 

it 

Henry  Clay  

46587 

37 

1828 

Andrew  Jackson  

Democrat  

647  231 

178 

John  Q.  Adams  

Republican  

509  097 

8* 

1832 

Andrew  Jackson  

Democrat  

687  502 

ai> 

Henry  Clay  

National  Republican  

530  189 

49 

ii 

John  Floyd  • 

Whig  

11 

M 

William  Wirt  

7 

1836 

Martin  Van  Buren  

Democrat  

761  549 

167 

W.  H.Harrison  
Hugh  L.  White  

Whig  I 

(73 
J  26 

ii 

Daniel  Webster  

"  :"""::::::::::::: 

736,656 

1  14 

11 

W.  P.  Mangam  

"  :.  ..::...::...::::..] 

ill 

1840 

Martin  Van  Buren  

Democrat  

1  128  702 

40 

W.  H.  Harrison  

Whig  

1  275  Oil 

234 

ii 

J.  G.  Birney  

Liberal  

7  059 

1844 

James  K.  Polk  

Democrat  

1  337  243 

170 

Henry  Clay  

Whig  

1,299,068 

105 

ii 

J  G  Birney     

Liberal  

62  300 

1848 

Zachary  Taylor  

Whig  

1  360  099 

163 

Lewis  Cass  

Democrat  

1  220544 

127 

11 

Martin  Van  Buren  

Free  Soil  

291  263 

1852 

Franklin  Pierce   . 

Democrat  

1  601  474 

254 

Winfleld  Scott    

Whig  

1  386  578 

42 

11 

John  P.  Hale     

Free  Soil  

155  825 

1856 

James  Buchanan  

Democrat  

1  838  169 

174 

Republican  

1  341  262 

114 

ii 

Millard  Fillmore 

American  

874  534 

§ 

1860 

Republican  

1  866352 

180 

Democrat  

1  375*157 

72 

u 

J  C  Breckenridge  

845  763 

39 

11 

John  Bell 

589  581 

12 

1864 

Republican  

2  216*067 

212 

Geo  B  McClellan 

Democrat  

1  808  725 

21 

1868 

U  S  Grant     

Republican  

3  015  071 

214 

Horatio  Seymour  

Democrat  

2  709  613 

71 

1872 

U  S  Grant  

Republican  

3  597  070 

286 

Horace  Greeley  

Liberal  and  Democrat.  .  .  . 

2  834079 

I! 

Charles  O'Conor  

11 

Temperance  

1876 

R.  B  Hayes      

Republican  

4033295 

185 

Samuel  J  Tilden  

Democrat  

4  284  265 

184 

,i 

81  737 

,, 

G  C  Smith 

Prohibition  

9  522 

u 

2  636 

1880 

Republican  

4454416 

214 

W  S  Hancock     . 

Democrat  

4  444  952 

155 

u 

James  B  Weaver  

308  578 

1884 

James  G.  Blaine  

4  851  981 

182 

4  874  986 

219 

ii 

Benjamin  F  Butler  . 

Greenback  

175  370 

u 

John  P  St.  John  

Prohibition  

150369 

Railroads  in  the  United  States.— We  have  120,000  miles  of  rail- 
road in  operation.  They  are  capitalized,  cost  and  water,  at  $10,000,000,000. 
Their  income  is  many  times  greater  than  that  of  the  United  States 
government. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  481 


Presidential  Statistics.— The  names  of  all  the  Presidents  of  the 
United  States,  with  date  of  birth,  inauguration  and  death,  likewise  the  name 
of  the  State  in  which  born,  are  given  in  the  following  table: 


Born. 

Inaugurated. 

Dtea. 

Native  of 

George  Washington 
John  Adams  

Feb.    22,  1732 
Oct.     30,  1735 

April    30,  1789 
March    4,  1797 

Dec.      14,  1799 
July        4,  1826 

Virginia. 
Mass. 

Thomas  Jefferson.  .  . 
James  Madison  
James  Monroe  

April     2,  1743 
Mar.    16,  1751 
April    2  1759 

"        4,  1801 
"        4,  1809 
"        4  1817 

July        4,  1826 
June    28,  1836 
July        4  1831 

Virginia. 

John  Quincy  Adams 
Andrew  Jackson... 
Martin  Van  Buren.. 
Win.  H.  Harrison.. 
*Jolm  Tyler  

July    11,  1767 
Mar.    15,  1767 
Dec.      5,  1782 
Feb.      9,  1773 
Mar.    20  1790 

"        4,  1825 
"        4,  1829 
"        4,  1837 
"        4,  1841 
April      5  1841 

Feb.      23,  1848 
June      8,  1845 
Dec.      27,  1862 
April      4,  1841 
Jan.      17  1862 

Mass. 
S.  Carolina. 
New  York. 
Virginia. 

James  K.  Polk  

Nov.      2  1705 

March    4  1845 

June     15  1849 

N.Carolina. 

Zachary  Taylor  
*Millard  Fillmore.. 
Franklin  Pierce  — 
James  Buchanan.  .  . 
Abraham  Lincoln.. 
*  Andrew  Johnson  .  . 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  
RutherPd  B.  Hayes. 

Nov.    24,  17«0 
May      7,  1800 
Nov.     23,  1804 
April   23,  1791 
Feb.     12,  1809 
Dec.     29,  1808 
April   27,  1822 
Oct.       4,  1822 

4,'  1849 
July      10,  1850 
March    4,  1853 
"        4,  1857 
"        4,  1861 
April     15,  1865 
March    4,  1869 
"        5  1877 

July        9,  1850 
March    8,  1874 
October  8,  1869 
June      1,  1868 
April    15,  1865 
July      31,  1875 
July     23,  1885 

Virginia. 
New  York. 
New  Hamp. 
Pennsylva. 
Kentucky. 
N.Carolina. 
Ohio. 

James  A.  Garneld.. 
•Chester  A.  Arthur. 

NOV.     19,  1831 
Oct.       5,  1830 

"        4,  1881 
Sept.     19,  1881 

Sept.     19,  1881 

Vermont. 

Grover  Cleveland.  .  . 

Mar.     18  1837 

March    4  1885 

N.  Jersey. 

*  Elected  Vice-Presidents,  and  succeeded  to  the  Presidency  upon  the  death 
of  the  President. 

Area  and  Depth  of  Inland  Seas In  the  following  table  are  given 

the  area  and  depth  of  the  principal  lakes  and  inland  seas  of  the  world: 

Name.  Size.                                                              Depth. 

Caspian  Sea 176,ooo  square  miles 250  feet. 

SeaofAral 30,000  "  loo 

Dead  Sea 303  '  200 

Lake  Baikal 12,000  '  750 

Lake  Superior 32,000  '  1,000 

Lake  Michigan 22,400  '  l,ooo 

Lake  Huron 21,000  '  1,000 

Lake  Erie 10,815  204 

Lake  Ontario 6,300  '  .       336    " 

Lake  Nicaragua 6,000  '  300    " 

LakeTitacana 3,012  '  800    " 

SaltLake 1,875  '  1,400    " 

Lake  Tchad 14,000  "  350    " 

Lake  Ladoga 12,000  "  1,200    " 

Area  of  Oceans.— The  area  of  the  five  oceans  of  the  globe  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Pacific 71,000,000  square  miles. 

Atlantic 30,000,000  " 

Indian 28,000,000  " 

Antarctic 8,500,000  " 

Arctic  4,500,000  " 

Census  of  the  United  States — The  following  table  exhibits  the 
population  of  the  United  States  according  to  each  census  taken: 

6th.  1840 17,069,453 

7th.  1850 23,191,876 

8th.  1860 31,443,32. 

9th.  1870 38,558,371 


1st.  1790 3,929,328 

2d.  1800 5,305,925 

3d.  1810 7,239,814 

4th.  1820 9,638,131 


6th.  1830 12,866,026 


10th.  1880 50,152,S6« 


482       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Height  of  Mountains — The  height  in  feet  and  miles  of  the  highest 
mountains  on  the  globe  is  thus  given: 

Feet.  Mttes. 

Kunchainyunga,  Himalayas 28,178  5>£ 

Sorata,  Andes,  highest  in  America 25,380  5 

Illimani,  Bolivia 21,780  4>£ 

Chimborazo,  Ecuador 21,444  4}£ 

Hindoo-Koosh,  Afghanistan 20,600  3% 

Cotopaxi,  Ecuador 19,408  3}£ 

Autisana,  Ecuador 19,150  3% 

St.  Elias,  British  America 18,000  3>£ 

Popocatepetl  volcano,  Mexico 17,735  3>£ 

Mt.  Roa,  Hawaii 16,ooo  3 

Mt.  Brown,  highest  Rocky  Mountain  peak 15,900  3 

Mont  Blanc,  highest  in  Europe 15,776  3 

Mowna  Roas,  Owhyhee 15,700  3 

Mount  Rosa,  Alps,  Sardinia .- 15,530  3 

Pinchinca,  Ecuador 15,200  2% 

Mt.  Whitney,  Cal 15,000  2% 

Mount  Fairweather,  Russian  possessions 14,796  2% 

Mount  Shasta,  California 14,450  2% 

Pikes  Peak,  Colorada 14.320  2% 

Mount  Ophir,  Sumatra 13,800  2% 

Fremont's  Peak,  R.  M.,  Wyoming 13,570  2%' 

Long's  Peak,  R.  M.,  California 13,400  2>£ 

Mount  Ranier,  Washington  Territory 13,000  2>£ 

Mount  Ararat.  Armenia 12,700  2% 

Peak  of  Tenerifle,  Canaries 12,236  2)£ 

Miltsin,  Morocco 12,000  2M 

Mount  Hood,  Oregon 11,570  2% 

Simplon,  Alps 11,542  2M 

Mount  Lebanon,  Syria 11,000  2}£ 

Mount  Perdu,  France 10,950  2 

Mount  St.  Helen's,  Oregon 10,158  1% 

Mount  Etna,  Sicily 10,050  1% 

Olympus,  Greece 9,754  13£ 

St.  Gothard,  Alps 9,080  \\ 

Pilate,  Alps 9.050  \\ 

Mount  Sinai,  Arabia*. 8,000  1)4 

Pindus,  Greece 7,677  1)4 

Black  Mountain,  New  Caledonia 6,467  l}f 

Mount  Washington,  New  Hampshire 6,234  1% 

Mount  Marcy,  New  York 5,467  1 

Mount  Hecla,  Iceland 5,000  1 

Ben  Nevis,  Scotland 4,400  X 

Mansfield,  Vermont 4,280  % 

Peaks  of  Otter,  Virginia 4,260  & 

Ben  Lawers,  Scotland 4,030  % 

Parnassus,  Greece 3,950  M 

Vesuvius,  Naples 3,932  X 

Stromboli 3,850  % 

Snowdon,  England 3,500  % 

Ben  Lomond 3,280  X 

Mount  Carmel 2,000 

Gibraltar 1,470 

The  Area  and  Population  of  China.— The  area  of  China  proper 
measures  1,348,870  square  miles,  being  about  half  the  size  of  Europe,  seven 

times  that  of  France,  and  fifteen  times  that  of  Great  Britain.  Each  of  the 
eighteen  provinces,  therefore,  is  on  an  average  almost  as  large  as  England. 
Though  not  so  densely  peopled  as  at  one  time  supposed — mistaken  esti- 
mates having  been  circulated  by  travelers  who  had  not  penetrated 
the  country  away  from  seaboard  or  river— it  is  yet  thickly  populated. 
The  population  of  China  probably  exceeds  200,000,000  of  "  Celestials."  In- 
teresting information  regarding  China  and  the  Chinese  will  be  found  in  the 
department  of  "  Travels,  Manners  and  Customs,  Etc." 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS. 


485 


A  Useful  Table. — The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  days  from 
*  given  date  in  one  month  to  the  same  date  in  any  other  month: 


te] 

TO 

K 

January. 

February. 

March. 

ft 
«1 

>, 

a 
X 

® 

I 

>-. 

"3 

h> 

• 

g, 

p 
H 

September. 

October. 

November. 

December. 

January  

365 

31 

59 

90 

120 

151 

181 

212 

243 

273 

304 

834 

February  

884 

365 

28 

59 

89 

1*>0 

150 

181 

212 

242 

273 

303 

306 

337 

365 

31 

61 

92 

122 

153 

184 

2H 

245 

275 

April.  .  . 

oyi. 

806 

334 

365 

SO 

61 

91 

190 

158 

188 

014 

244 

May  

245 

276 

304 

335 

365 

81 

61 

92 

123 

153 

185 

214 

June  

214 

245 

273 

304 

334 

365 

30 

61 

92 

122 

153 

183 

July  .  . 

184 

015 

243 

274 

304 

335 

365 

31 

6^ 

90 

V>8 

153 

August  

158 

184 

212 

243 

273 

304 

884 

365 

81 

61 

9? 

122 

September  

1<>0 

158 

181 

212 

242 

273 

303 

884 

365 

80 

61 

91 

October  

q-> 

T>8 

151 

182 

212 

243 

273 

80-1 

885 

865 

81 

61 

November    

61 

90 

120 

151 

181 

212 

242 

273 

304 

334 

365 

30 

December  

81 

6° 

90 

121 

151 

182 

212 

243 

074 

804 

885 

365 

Example. — To  find  the  number  of  days  from  June  16th  to  October  16th: 
In  the  left  hand  column  find  June.    Bun  your  eye  along  to  the  right 

until  it  reaches  the  column  headed  October  at  the  top.    At  the  intersection 

of  the  two  columns  you  will  find  the  answer,  122  days. 

Locomotion  of  Animals  and  Velocity  of  Bodies. — The  follow* 
ing  table  is  interesting  as  showing  the  average  power  of  locomotion  of 
animals  as  compared  with  the  velocity  of  various  bodies: 

Per  hour.  Per  second. 

A  man  walks Smiles,  or        4feet, 

Ahorsetrots 7     "  or       10    " 

Ahorseruns 20     "  or      29    " 

Steamboat  runs 18     "  or      26    " 

Sailing  vessel  runs 10     "  or      14 

Slow  rivers  flow 3     "  or        4 

Rapid  rivers  flow 7      '  or      10 

A  moderate  wind  blows 7      '  or      10 

Astorm  moves 36      '  or      52 

A  hurricane  moves 80      '  or     117 

A  rifle  ball  moves 1,000      '  or  1,466 

Sound  moves 743     "  or  1,142    " 

Light  moves 192,000  miles  per  second. 

Electricity  moves 288,ooo     " 

The  astounding  velocity  of  electricity  and  light  in  comparison  with  that 
of  other  bodies,  may  well  excite  surprise  and  wonder. 


484      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Height  of  Monuments,  Towers  and  Structures The  height, 

in  feet,  of  the  most  lofty  monuments  and  other  structures  in  the  world  is 
given  in  the  following  table: 


Feet. 

Washington  Monument,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C 555 

Pyramid  of  Cheops,  Egypt 543 

Antwerp  Cathedral,  Belgium 476 

Strasburg  Cathedral,  France 474 

Tower  of  Utrecht,  Holland 464 

St.  Stephen's  Steeple,  Vienna 460 

Pyramid  of  Cephenes,  Egypt 456 

St.  Martin's  Church,  Bavaria 456 

St.  Peter's,  Rome 


Salisbury  Spire,  England 410 

St.  Paul's,  London,  England 404 

St.  Peter's,  at  Hambro' 395 

Cathedral  at  Florence,  Italy 384 

Cremona  Cathedral.  Italy 372 

Seville  Cathedral,  Spain 360 

Pyramid  of  Sakkarah,  Egypt 356 

Distances  from  Washington  to  Various  Points — The  air  line 
distances  from  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  to  the  various  points  indicated 
are  given  in  the  following  table: 


Feet. 

Notre  Dame  Cathedral,  Munich 348 

Dome  of  the  Invalides,  Paris 347 

Madgeburg  Cathedral 337 

St.  Mark's  Church,  Venice 328 

Assinelll  Tower,  Bologna 314 

Bartholdi  Statue,  New  York 305 

Trinity  Church,  New  York 283 

Brooklyn  Bridge  To wers 281 

Column  at  Delhi,  India 262 

Porcelain  Tower,  China 242 

Canterbury,  Tower,  England 235 

Notre  Dame  Cathedral,  Paris 232 

Bunker  Hill  Monument 220 

Leaning  Tower,  Pisa,  Italy 202 

Monument,  London 202 

Monument,  Place  Vendome,  Pans.  153 
Trajan's  Pillar,  Rome 151 


Miles. 

Alexandria,  Egypt 5,275 

Amsterdam,  Holland 3,555 

Athens,  Greece 5,005 

Auckland,  New  Zealand 8,290 

Algiers,  Algeria 3,425 

Berlin,  Prussia 3,847 

Berne,  Switzerland 3, 730 

Brussels,  Belgium 3,515 

Batavia,  Java 11,118 

Bombay,  Hindostan 8,548 

Buenos  Ayres,  A.  C 5,013 

Bremen,  Prussia 3,500 

Constantinople,  Turkey 4,880 

Copenhagen,  Denmark 3,895 

Calcutta,  Hindostan 9.348 

Canton,  China 9,000 

Cairo,  Egypt 5,848 

Cape  Town,  Cape  Colony 6,684 

Cape  of  Good  Hope 7,380 

Caraccas,  Venezuela 1,865 

Charlotte  Town,  P.  E.  1 820 

Dublin,  Ireland 3,076 

Delhi,  Hindostan 8,368 

Edinburgh,  Scotland 3,275 

Frederickton,  N.  B 670 

Gibraltar,  Spain 3,150 

Glasgow,  Scotland 3,215 

Halifax,  N.  S 780 

Hamburg,  Germany 3,570 

Havana,  Cuba 1,139 

Honolulu,  S.  1 4,513 

Jerusalem,  Palestine 5,495 

Jamestown,  St.  Helena 7,150 

Lima,  Peru 3,515 

Lisbon,  Portugal 3,190 

Liverpool,  England 3,228 

London   England 3,315 

City  of  Mexico,  Mexico 1,867 

Montevideo,  Uruguay 5,003 

Montreal,  Canada 471 

Madrid,  Spain 3,485 

Moscow, Russia .,..,,,.,.  4,436 


Miles. 

Manilla,  Phil.  Islands 9,360 

Mecca,  Arabia 6,598 

Muscat,  Arabia 7,600 

Monrovia,  Liberia 3,645 

Morocco,  Morocco 3,305 

Mourzouk,  Fezzan 5,525 

Mozambique,  Moz 7,348 

Ottawa,  Canada 462 

Panama,  New  Gran 1,825 

Parana,  A.  C 4,733 

Port  au  Prince,  Hayti 1,425 

Paris,  France 3,485 

Pekin,  China 8,783 

Quebec,  Canada 601 

Quito,  Ecuador 2,531 

Rio  Janeiro,  Brazil 4,280 

Rome,  Italy 4,365 

St.  Petersburg,  Russia 4,296 

Stockholm,  Sweden 4,055 

Shanghai,  China 8,600 

Singapore,  Malay 11,300 

St.  John's.  N.  P 1,340 

San  Domingo,  S.  D 4,300 

San  Juan,  Nicaragua 1,740 

San  Salvador,  A.  C 1,650 

Santiago,  Chili 4,970 

Spanish  Town.  Jamaica 1,448 

Sydney,  C.  B.  1 975 

Sydney,  Australia 8,963 

St.  Paul  de  Loanda 5,578 

Timbuctoo,  Soudan 3,395 

Tripoli,  Tripoli 4,425 

Tunis,  Tunis 4,240 

Toronto,  Canada 343 

Venice,  Italy 3,835 

Vienna,  Austria 4,115 

Valparaiso,  Chili 4934 

Vera  Cruz,  Mexico 1,680 

Warsaw,  Poland 4,010 

Yeddo,  Japan 7.630 

Zanzibar,  Zanzibar 7,078 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS. 


485 


Distances  from  New  York  to  Important  Cities — The  follow- 
ing are  the  distances  from  New  York  City,  as  the  crow  fliss,  to  the  points 
indicated: 


Miles. 

Albany,  N.  Y 146 

Atlanta,  Ga 1,000 

Baltimore,  Md 185 

Boston,  Mass 236 

ButtUlo,  N.  Y 469 

Burlington,  Vt. 301 

Charleston,  S.  C 764 

Chicago,  111 898 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 744 

Cleveland,  Ohio 588 

Denver  City,  Col 1,980 

Detroit,  Mich 679 

Galveston,  Tex 1,800 

Harrisburg,  Pa 182 

Hartford,  Conn 133 

Indianapolis,  Ind 838 

Little  Rock,  Ark 1,400 

Long  Branch,  N.  J 36 

Louisville,  Ky 845 

Memphis,  Tenn 1,200 

Milwaukee,  Wis 1,100 

Mobile,  Ala 1,352 

Montgomery,  Ala 1,220 

Nashville  Tenn 1,019 

Newark,  N.  J 9 

Newburg,  N.  Y 53 

New  Haven,  Conn 76 

New  Orleans,  La 1,597 


Miles. 

Newport,  R.  1 160 

Omaha,  Neb 1,430 

Philadelphia,  Pa 87 

Pittsburg,  Pa, 431 

Portland,Me 344 

Providence,  R.  1 183 

Raleigh,  N.  C 538 

Richmond,  Va 353 

Rochester,  N.  Y 401 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 2,430 

San  Francisco,  Cal 3,306 

Savannah,  Ga 854 

Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y 183 

St.  Louis,  Mo 1,090 

St.  Paul,  Minn 1,450 

Washington,  D.  C 225 

Calcutta,  India 8,300 

Dublin,  Ireland 3,130 

Edinburgh,  Scotland 3,586 

Frankfort,  Germany. 3,530 

Havana,  Cuba 1,930 

London.  England 3,206 

Madrid,  Spain 3,140 

Montreal,  Canada 401 

Paris,  France 3,567 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil 4,550 

Rome,  Italy 4,396 

St.  Petersbnrgh,  Russia 4,860 


Chronological  History  of  Discovery  and  Progress.— 1180—  Glass 

first  used  for  windows. 
1200 — Mariner's  Compass  first  used. 
1234—  Coal  first  dug  for  fuel. 
1240 — Spectacles  invented. 
1302 — Paper  first  made  from  linen  rags. 
1320 — Gunpowder  invented. 
1436 — Printing  invented 
1457—  Almanacs  first  printed  by  Purback,  in  Vienna.    Newspaper,  first  in 

the  world  issued,  called  The  Gazette,  printed  at  Nuremburg. 
1462— Metal  Type  in  matrices  first  made  by  Peter  Schoeffer,  at  Nuremburg. 

Bible  first  printed,  at  Mentz. 
1471 — Printing  Press  first  set  up,  by  Caxton. 
1473 — Musical  Notes  first  used,  but  not  printed  until  1502. 
1476 —  Watches  first  made  at  Nuremberg. 
1516— Post-office  first  established  for  general  public  use,  between  Vienna  and 

Brussels. 
1517 —  The  True  System  of  the  Universe,  discovered  by  Copernicus.    Luther 

began  to  preach  in  the  same  year. 
1521 — Luther  summoned  before  the  Diet  of  Worms. 
1526— Xavier,  the  first  great  missionary  of  modern  Christianity,  planted  the 

cross  in  India. 

1527— Wood  Engraving  invented  by  Albert  Durer. 
1530— Spinning  Wheel  set  in  motion  by  Jergens. 
1532—  Henry  VIII,  of  England,  finally  and  forever  broke  with  the  Pope. 


486        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

1535 — Ignalius  Loyola  founded  the  Order  of  the  Jesuits.    First  English  Bible. 

(Coverdale's). 

1545 — Modern  Needles  first  came  into  use. 
1552 — Books  of  Geography  and  Astronomy  destroyed  in  England,  as  being 

infected  with  magic. 

1555 — Wheeled  Carriages  first  used  in  France. 
1559 — Steel  Knives  first  used  in  England,  and  Coaches  introduced  about  the 

same  time. 

1562 — Religious  Liberty  granted  to  the  Huguenots  in  France,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  1572. 
1568 — Clocks  first  made  in  England. 

1590 — Telescopes  were  invented,  and  the  first  was  probably  used  in  England 
in  1608.  Spencer,  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  Kepler,  Tycho  Brake,  were 
contemporaries  in  this  year. 

1607 — First  Settlement  in  America,  Jamestown,  Virginia. 
1615 — Daily  Newspaper  first  issued,  Frankfort  Gazette.    Still  published. 
1616 — Potatoes  landed  in  Ireland  by  Sir  Walter  Baleigh,  said  to  have  been 

brought  by  him,  vrith  tobacco,  from  Virginia. 

1622 — The  First  Newspaper  was  published  in  England;  the  first  attempt  at 

Parliamentary  reporting  in  1641;  the  first  advertisement  appeared  in 

1648;  and  the  first  paper  devoted  exclusively  to  advertisements  and 

shipping  in  1657. 

1629 — Printing  Press  first  introduced  into  the  United  States,  at  Cambridge, 

Mass. 

1650 — First  Air  Pumps  manufactured. 

1670 — Organs  first  introduced  into  churches  by  Pope  Vitalianus. 
1690 — First  American  Newspaper  published  at  Boston,  September  25th,  a 
monthly  sheet,  headed  "  Publick  Occurrences,  Foreign  and  Domes- 
tick."    Soon  suppressed. 
1702 — First  English  Daily  Newspaper  published  in  London,  and  was  called 

Daily  Gourant.     Gas  first  used  for  illuminating. 
1704 — Newspaper  first  permanently  printed  in  America,  at  Boston,  called 

Boston  News-Letter. 

1711 — Piano-forte  invented  by  Father  Wood,  an  English  monk  at  Rome. 
1731 — First  French  Newspaper  published  at  Paris,  called  Gazette  de  France. 

First  Public  Library  established,  at  Philadelphia,  July  31st. 
1736 — Union  Fire  Company,  Philadelphia,  organized  December  7th,  the  first 

volunteer  fire  company  in  America,  and  probably  in  the  world. 
1751 — Pennsylvania  Hospital,  established  February  7th;  the  first  in  America. 
1752 — Fire  Insurance  Company  firet  formed  in  America,  "  The  Philadelphia 
Contributionship."     Lightning  Rods  first  used.    Put  up  by  Benjamin 
Franklin  at  his  house  in  Philadelphia.     Theatre  first  opened  in  Amer- 
ica, at  Williameburg,  Va. 
1753— Steam  Engine  first  introduced  into  use  in  America,  and  was  brought 

from  England. 

1777 — American  Flag  adopted  by  Congress. 
1780— Sunday  Schools  first  established  by  Robert  Eaikes,  in  Gloucester, 

England. 
1781 — Bank  of  North  America  incorporated   at  Philadelphia,  May  26th. 

First  banking  institution  in  America.    Capital  $400,000. 
1783 — BaUoon  ascension  first  made,  June  5th,  near  Lyons,  France. 
1784— Daily  Paper  first  published  in  the  United  States,  The  Penntylvanim 
Packet,  or  General  Advertiser. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  487 

178ft—  Vessel  navigated  first  by  steam,  Philadelphia,  July  20th,  by  John 
Fitch. 

1787—  Copper  Cent  first  coined  at  New  Haven,  Conn. 

1803.—  Steel  Pens  first  made. 

1807— First  Steamboat  plied  the  Hudson,  the  Ctennont,  by  Robert  Fulton. 

1811 — Lead  Pencils  first  made  in  the  United  States,  by  William  Munroe,  at 
Concord,  Mass. 

1813 — Coal  first  mined  in  Philadelphia,  sold  at  $21  per  ton.  There  are  $50,- 
000,000  worth  now  produced  annually.  Electric  LiglU  first  made  prac- 
tical by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy. 

1815 — First  religious  newspaper,  the  Boston  Record,  established. 

1816 — Pins  first  manufactured  in  the  United  States. 

1818 — Steamer  first  crossed  the  Atlantic,  the  Savannah,  from  New  York  to 
Liverpool,  in  twenty-six  days. 

1824 — Steam  Ferry  Boats  first  used  between  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 

1825 — Gas  first  used  in  New  York  for  illuminating  purposes.  Homoeopathy 
introduced  into  the  United  States.  Passenger  Railroad  first  opened, 
September  27th,  in  England. 

1826 — Kwosene  first  used  for  illuminating  purposes.  Railroad,  first  in 
United  States,  extended  from  granite  quarries  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  to 
Neponset  Eiver,  three  miles.  Now  nearly  100,000  miles  hi  the  United 
States. 

1828— Passenger  Railroad,  first  in  America  opened,  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio. 

1829 — Lucifer  Matches  first  made;  came  into  general  use  about  1834. 

1830 — Steam  Railroad,  first  in  New  York  State,  was  from  Albany  to  Schenec- 
tady,  23  miles.  Iron  Steamship  first  built,  omnibuses  first  intro- 
duced for  travel  in  New  York  City. 

1832 — Telegraph  invented  by  Morse. 

1888 — Telegraph  Wire  of  any  practical  importance  first  in  England,  was  laid 
from  Paddington  to  West  Dray  ton;  the  first  in  Scotland  in  1841;  and 
in  Ireland  1854.  Passenger  Steamships  began  regular  voyages  across 
the  Atlantic;  the  Sirus,  from  London  to  New  York,  in  17  days,  and 
the  Great  Western,  from  Bristol  to  New  York,  in  15  days. 

1839 — Envelopes  first  used  for  letters,  etc. 

1840— Postage-Stamps  first  used  in  England. 

1844 — Telegraph  Wire  first  laid  in  America  was  between  Washington  and 
Baltimore.  Anaesthesia  discovered. 

1846— Sewing-Machine  patented,  by  Elias  Howe. 

1847 — Postage-Stamps  first  used  in  the  United  States. 

1848 — Gold  first  discovered  in  California. 

1853-- CH/staZ  Palace,  N.  Y.,  opened.    Burned  Oct.  5, 1858. 

1858  -Cable  Dispatches  first  sent  across  Ocean. 

1863— Emancipation  proclamation. 

1866— Atlantic  Cable  successfully  laid. 

1871—  Great  Fire  in  Chicago. 

1877—  Telephone  first  put  into  public  use.  Phonograph,  Edison's,  first 
brought  to  public  attention. 

1878 — Elevated  Railroad  commenced  running  in  New  York  City  August 
26th. 

1883—  Brooklyn  Bridge  opened  May  24th.  Cars  began  to  run  Septem- 
ber 2d. 

1884.— Discovery  of  Cocoaine,  the  most  remarkable  of  anasthetica. 

1885—  Tlie  Bartholdi  Statue  erected  upon  Bedloe's  Island,  New  York, 


488       CYCLOPEDIA    01'    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Popular  Sobriquets  of  American  States,  Cities,  Etc — Acadia, 
the  original,  and  now  the  poetic,  name  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Athens  of  America,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  Boston,  Mass. 

Badger  State,  a  name  popularly  given  to  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 

Hay  Slate,  a  popular  name  of  Massachusetts,  which  was  originally  called 
the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Bayou  State,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  State  of  Mississippi,  which 
abounds  in  bayous,  or  creeks. 

Hear  State,  a  name  by  which  the  State  of  Arkansas  is  sometimes  desig- 
nated, on  account  of  the  number  of  bears  that  infest  its  forests. 

Blue  Hen,  The,  a  cant  or  popular  name  for  the  State  of  Delaware. 

Buckeye  State,  the  State  of  Ohio,  popularly  so  called  from  the  Buckeye 
tree,  which  abounds  there. 

City  of  BrotTterly  Love;  Philadelphia  is  sometimes  so  called,  this  being  the 
literal  signification  of  the  name. 

City  of  Churches,  a  name  popularly  given  to  the  City  of  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  from  the  unusually  large  number  of  churches  which  it  con- 
tains. 

City  of  Elms,  a  familiar  denomination  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  many  of  the 
streets  of  which  are  thickly  shaded  with  lofty  elms. 

City  of  Magnificent  Distances,  a  popular  designation  given  to  the  city  of 
Washington,  the  capital  of  the  United  States,  which  is  laid  out  on  a  very 
large  scale. 

City  of  Notions,  a  popular  name  for  Boston. 

City  of  Rocks,  a  descriptive  name  popularly  given  to  the  city  of  Nashville, 
Tenn. 

City  of  Spindles,  a  name  popularly  given  to  the  city  of  Lowell,  Mass.,  the 
largest  cotton-manufacturing  town  in  the  United  States. 

City  of  the  Straits,  a  name  popularly  given  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  which  is  situ- 
ated on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  or  strait  connecting  Lake  St.  Clair 
with  Lake  Erie.  Detroit  is  a  French  word,  meaning  "  strait." 

Columbia,  a  name  often  given  to  America,  from  a  feeling  of  poetic  justice 
to  its  discoverer.  The  application  of  the  term  is  usually  restricted  to 
the  United  States. 

Corn- Or  acker,  The,  a  popular  nickname  or  designation  for  the  State  of 
Kentucky.  The  inhabitants  of  the  State  are  often  called  Corn-crackers. 

Cradle  of  Liberty,  a  popular  name  given  to  Faneuil  Hall,  a  large  public 
edifice  in  Boston,  Mass. 

Creole  State,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  State  of  Louisiana,  in  which  the 
descendants  of  the  original  French  and  Spanish  settlers  constitute  a 
large  proportion  of  the  population. 

Crescent  City,  a  popular  name  for  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 

Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,  The,  an  expression  often  used  in  allusion  to  Ken- 
tucky, of  which  name  it  is  said  to  be  the  translation. 

Diamond  State,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  State  of  Delaware,  from  ita 
small  size  and  great  worth,  or  supposed  importance. 

Empire  City,  the  city  of  New  York,  the  chief  city  of  America. 

Empire  State,  a  popular  name  of  the  State  of  New  York,  the  most  populous 
and  the  wealthiest  State  in  the  Union. 

Excelsior  State,  the  State  of  New  York,  sometimes  so  called  from  the  motto, 
"  Excelsior,"  upon  ita  coat  of  arms. 

Fatt  City;  Louisville,  Ky.,  popularly  so  called  from  the  falls  which,  at  tuil 
place,  impede  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  Elver. 


8'fAflSTlOAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          489 

Father  of  Waters,  a  popular  name  given  to  the  river  Mississippi  on  account 
of  its  great  length  (3,160  miles),  and  the  very  large  number  of  its  tribu- 
taries, of  which  the  lied,  the  Arkansas,  the  Ohio,  the  Missouri,  the 
Illinois,  the  DCS  Moines,  the  Wisconsin,  and  the  St.  Peter's  or  Minne- 
sota, are  the  most  important.  The  literal  signification  of  the  name, 
which  is  of  Indian  origin,  is  said  to  be  "  great  river." 

rtnnr  City,  a  popular  designation  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  a  place  re- 
markable for  its  extensive  manufactories  of  flour. 

/•'/o'/vr  Oily;  Springfield,  111.,  the  capital  of  the  State,  which  is  distinguished 
for  the  beauty  of  its  surroundings. 

Forest  City;  Cleveland,  0.,  so  called  from  the  many  ornamental  trees  with 
which  the  streets  are  bordered.  Also,  a  name  given  to  Portland,  Me., 
a  city  distinguished  for  its  many  elms  and  other  beautiful  shade  trees. 

Freestone  State,  the  State  of  Connecticut,  sometimes  so  called  from  the 
quarries  of  freestone  which  it  contains. 

Garden  City,  a  popular  name  for  Chicago,  a  city  which  is  remarkable  for  the 
number  and  beauty  of  its  private  gardens. 

Garden  of  the  West,  a  name  usually  given  to  Kansas,  but  sometimes  ap- 
plied to  Illinois  and  others  of  the  Western  States,  which  are  all  noted 
for  their  productiveness. 

Garden  of  the  World,  &  name  frequently  given  to  the  vast  country,  com- 
prising more  than  1,200,000  square  miles,  which  is  drained  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  its  tributaries — a  region  of  almost  unexampled  fertility. 

Gate  City;  Keokuk,  la.,  popularly  so  called.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of 
the  lower  rapids  of  the  Mississippi  (which  extend  twelve  miles,  with  a 
fall  of  twenty- tour  feet),  and  is  the  natural  head  of  navigation.  A  por- 
tion of  the  city  is  built  on  a  bluff  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 

Gibraltar  of  America,  a  name  often  given  to  the  city  of  Quebec,  which, 
from  its  position  and  natural  and  artificial  means  of  defense,  is  the  most 
strongly  fortified  city  in  America. 

Gotham,  go'tham,  a  popular  name  for  the  city  of  New  York,  first  given  to  it 
in  "  Salmagundi "  (a  humorous  work  by  Washington  Irving  and  Wil- 
liam Irving  and  James  K.  Paulding),  because  the  inhabitants  were 
such  wiseacres. 

Granite  State,  a  popular  name  for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  the  moun- 
tainous portions  of  which  are  largely  composed  of  granite. 

Green- Mountain  State,  a  popular  name  of  Vermont,  the  Green  Mountains 
being  the  principal  mountain  range  in  the  State. 

Hawkeye  State,  the  State  of  Iowa,  said  to  be  so  named  after  an  Indian  chief, 
who  was  once  a  terror  to  voyageurs  to  its  borders. 

Hoosier  State,  hoo'zhur,  the  State  of  Indiana,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are 
often  called  Hoosiers.  This  word  is  a  corruption  of  husher,  formerly  a 
common  term  for  a  bully  throughout  the  West. 

Hub  of  the  Universe,  a  burlesque  and  popular  designation  of  Boston,  Mass., 
originating  with  the  American  humorist,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

Iron  City,  a  name  popularly  given  to  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  a  city  distinguished 
for  its  numerous  ana  immense  iron  manufactures. 

Key  of  the  Gulf,  a  name  often  given  to  the  island  of  Cuba,  from  its  position 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Keystone  State,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  so  called  from  its  having  been  the 
central  State  of  the  Union  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. If  the  names  of  the  thirteen  original  States  are  arranged  in  the 
form  of  an  arch,  Pennsylvania  will  occupy  the  place  of  the  keystone. 


490       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

King  of  Waters,  a  name  given  to  the  River  Amazon,  in  South  America. 

Lake  State,  a  name  popularly  given  to  the  State  of  Michigan,  which  borders 
upon  the  four  lakes,  Superior,  Michigan,  Huron,  and  Erie. 

Land  of  Steady  Habits,  a  name  by  which  the  State  of  Connecticut  is  some- 
times designated,  in  allusion  to  the  moral  character  of  its  inhabitants. 

Little  Rhody,  a  popular  designation  of  Rhode  Island,  the  smallest  of  the 
United  States. 

Lone  Star  State,  the  State  of  Texas,  so  called  from  the  device  on  its  coat  of 
arms. 

Lumber  State,  a  popular  designation  for  the  State  of  Maine,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  are  largely  engaged  in  cutting  and  rafting  lumber,  or  of  con- 
verting it  into  boards,  shingles,  scantling,  and  the  like. 

Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  a  name  given  to  the  southern  boundary  line  of  the 
free  State  of  Pennsylvania,,  which  separated  it  from  the  slave  States  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  It  was  run — except  about  twenty-two  miles 
— by  Charles  Mason  and  Jeremiah  Dixon,  two  English  mathematicians 
and  surveyors,  between  November  15,  1763,  and  December  26,  1767. 
During  the  excited  debate  in  Congress,  in  1820,  on  the  question  of  ex- 
cluding slavery  from  Missouri,  the  eccentric  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke, 
made  great  use  of  this  phrase,  which  was  caught  up  and  re-echoed  by 
every  newspaper  in  the  land,  and  thus  gained  the  celebrity  which  it 
still  maintains. 

Modern  Athens,  a  name  often  given  to  Boston,  Mass.,  a  city  remarkable  for  the 
high  intellectual  character  of  its  citizens  and  for  its  many  excellent 
literary,  scientific,  and  educational  institutions  and  publications. 

Monumental  City,  the  city  of  Baltimore,  so  called  from  the  monuments  which 
it  contains. 

Mother  of  Presidents,  a  name  frequently  given  to  the  State  of  Virginia, 
which  has  furnished  six  Presidents  to  the  Union. 

Mother  of  States,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  the  first 
settled  of  the  thirteen  States  which  united  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. 

Mound  City,  a  name  popularly  given  to  St.  Louis  on  account  of  the  numer- 
ous artificial  mounds  that  occupied  the  site  on  which  the  city  is  built. 

Nutmeg  State,  a  popular  name  for  the  State  of  Connecticut,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  have  such  a  reputation  for  shrewdness  that  they  have  jocosely 
been  accused  of  palming  off  wooden  nutmegs  on  unsuspecting  pur- 
chasers, instead  of  the  genuine  article. 

Old  Colony,  a  name  popularly  given  to  that  portion  of  Massachusetts  in- 
cluded within  the  original  limits  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  which  was 
formed  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  In 
1692,  the  two  colonies  were  united  in  one  province,  bearing  the  name  of 
the  latter,  and,  at  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Union,  became  the 
State  of  Massachusetts. 

Old  Dominion,  a  popular  name  for  the  State  of  Virginia,  The  origin  of 
this  term  has  been  differently  accounted  for  by  different  writers. 

Old  North  State,  a  popular  designation  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Palmetto  State,  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  so  called  from  the  arms  of  the 
State,  which  contain  a  palmetto. 

Panhandle,  The,  a  fanciful  and  cant  name  given  to  the  most  northerly  por- 
tion of  the  State  of  West  Virginia— a  long,  narrow  projection  betweea 
the  Ohio  River  and  the  western  boundary  of  Pennsylvania. 

Peninsula  State,  the  State  of  Florida,  BO  called  from  its  shape. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          491 

Pine  Tree  State,  a  popular  name  of  the  State  of  Maine,  the  central  and 
northern  portions  of  which  are  covered  with  extensive  pine  forests. 

Prairie  State,  a  name  given  to  Illinois,  in  allusion  to  the  wide-spread  and 
beautiful  prairies,  which  form  a  striking  feature  of  the  scenery  of  the 
State. 

Puritan  CUy,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  city  of  Boston,  Mass.,  in  allu- 
sion to  the  character  of  its  founders  and  early  inhabitants. 

Quaker  City,  a  popular  name  of  Philadelphia,  which  was  planned  and  set- 
tled by  William  Penn,  accompanied  by  a  colony  of  English  Friends. 

Queen  City,  a  popular  name  of  Cincinnati,  so  called  when  it  was  the  undis- 
puted commercial  metropolis  of  the  West. 

Queen  City  of  the  Lakes,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  the  city  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  from  its  position  and  importance. 

Queen  of  the  Antilles,  an  appellation  sometimes  given  to  Cuba,  which,  from 
its  great  size,  its  rich  natural  productions,  its  fine  harbors,  its  varied 
and  beautiful  scenery,  and  its  commanding  geographical  position,  ranks 
first  among  all  the  islands  of  the  West  Indian  group. 

Queen  of  the  West,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  Cincinnati. 

Railroad  City:  Indianapolis,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  is  some- 
times called  by  this  name,  as  being  the  terminus  of  various  railroads. 

Salt  River,  &  cant  name  for  an  imaginary  river  up  which  defeated  political 
parties  are  supposed  to  be  sent  to  oblivion. 

Smoky  City,  a  name  sometimes  given  to  Pittsburgh,  an  important  manu- 
facturing city  of  Pennsylvania. 

Sucker  State,  a  cant  name  given  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  are  very  generally  called  suckers  throughout  the  West. 

Turpentine  State,  a  popular  name  for  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  which  pro- 
duces and  exports  immense  quantities  of  turpentine. 

Wolverine  State,  the  State  of  Michigan,  popularly  so  called  from  its  abound- 
ing with  wolverines. 

Incorrect  Language. — To  expose  the  mistakes  of  contented  igno- 
rance is  hopeless.  There  is  no  cure  for  these  but  a  general  improvement 
in  education.  There  are,  however,  errors  which  well-instructed  persons 
sometimes  fall  into,  from  mere  habit  or  thoughtlessness.  Such  errors,  like 
the  "  fears  of  the  brave  and  the  follies'of  the  wise,"  have  only  to  be  brought 
home  to  the  consciousness  of  those  who  commit  them  to  be  discarded  at 
once. 

A  very  common  mistake,  even  with  good  writers  and  speakers,  is  the 
substitution  of  had  for  woulsl,  before  the  adverbs  rather,  sooner,  better,  lief, 
and  some  others.  "I  had  rather  stay  than  go,"  instead  of  "I  would 
rather."  "  I  had  as  lief  take  one  as  the  other,"  instead  of  "  I  would  as 
lief."  The  origin  of  the  error  is  evident  enough.  The  two  words  had  and 
would  have  the  same  contracted  form  when  combined  with  a  pronoun.  "  I'd 
rather  "  may  be  a  contraction  of  either  "  I  would  rather,"  or  "  I  had  rather." 
This  contracted  form  is  that  which  we  almost  always  use  in  common  speech. 
Even  when  we  are  inclined  to  lengthen  it,  we  rarely  give  the  full  pronuncia- 
tion. We  say  "  I'ud  rather,"  leaving  the  verb  doubtful  to  the  listener's  ear, 
and  perhaps  to  ourselves.  When  driven  to  write  it,  we  feel  naturally  in- 
clined to  take  the  shortest  word,  without  much  regard  to  the  strict  gram- 
matical meaning  of  the  phrase.  That  the  expressions  "  I  had  rather  "  and 
"  I  had  as  lief"  are  incorrect,  will  be  made  evident  by  simply  converting 
rather  into  its  synonym  more  willingly,  and  Zte/into  the  corresponding  gladly. 


4t«       (JYVLOfjtoDlA    OJf     USEFUL 

Yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  these  incorrect  forma  are  warranted  by  such 
high  authorities,  from  Shakespeare  to  some  of  the  best  writers  of  our  own 
day,  that  they  are  entitled  to  be  regarded,  if  not  as  established  idioms,  at 
least  as  tolerated  solecisms. 

The  confusion  of  lay  with  lie,  and  of  set  with  sit,  is  among  the  most  com- 
mon errors  of  speech,  though  well-educated  persons  are  usually  able  to 
avoid  it  in  writing.  Every  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  idiom  of  our  lan- 
guage knows,  or  ought  to  know,  that  lay  and  set  are  what  are  called  transi- 
tive verbs,  and  that  lie  and  sit  are  intransitive.  In  other  words,  the  two 
former  can  take  a  noun  after  them  in  the  objective  case,  and  the  two  latter 
cannot.  We  say,  "  Lay  the  book  down; "  "  Set  the  post  up."  To  say,  "  Lie 
the  book,"  or  "  Sit  the  post,"  would  be  ridiculous.  The  error  usually  com- 
mitted is  in  the  opposite  direction — the  transitive  verbs  being  used  in  an 
intransitive  sense.  Many  persons,  not  deficient  in  education  would  say, 
"  Some  of  the  children  are  laying  on  the  grass,  and  the  others  are  setting  in 
the  parlor."  That  the  error  prevails  in  the  very  highest  circles  of  society 
and  of  scholarship  cannot  be  doubted  when  we  find  it  allowed  to  mar  the 
effect  of  one  of  the  finest  verses  in  Byron's  well-known  apostrophe  to  the 
ocean. 

"  Man's  steps  are  not  upon  thy  paths;  thy  fields 
Are  not  a  spoil  for  him ;  thou  dost  arise 

And  shake  him  from  thee;  the  vile  strength  he  wields 
For  earth's  destruction  thou  dost  all  despise, 
Spurning  him  from  thy  bosom  to  the  skies, 

And  send'st  him,  shivering  in  thy  playful  spray, 
And  howling  to  his  gods,  where  haply  lies 

His  petty  hope  in  some  near  port  or  bay, 

And  dashed  him  again  to  earth — there  let  him  lay." 

Next  let  us  note  the  persistency  with  which  many  well-educated,  as 
well  as  most  uneducated  persons,  use  the  objective  pronouns  me,  lier, 
him,  them,  after  the  various  tenses  of  the  substantive  verb  to  be,  in  spite  of 
the  injunctions  of  grammarians.  The  habit  of  saying,  "  It  is  me,"  "  It  is 
him, "  instead  of  "  It  is  I,"  "  It  is  he,"  is  so  universal  and  so  fixed  that 
some  modern  writers  on  English  philology  have  been  disposed  to  regard  it 
as  allowable. 

Possibly  to  the  same  cause  we  may  ascribe  the  general  disuse,  in  ordi- 
nary speech,  of  whom  as  the  objective  case  of  who.  Instead  of  "  the  man 
whom  I  met,"  almost  every  one  would  say,  "  the  man  that  I  met;"  or,  more 
briefly,  "the  man  I  met."  Both  of  these  modes  of  expression  are  in  ac- 
cordance with  grammatical  rules.  Not  so  is  the  equally  common  form  of 
interrogation,  "  Who  did  you  meet?"  "  Who  were  you  speaking  to?"  Here 
whom  would  be  correct,  and  yet  would  seem  so  stiff,  that  many  who  know 
the  right  would  yet  pursue  the  wrong  way  deliberately.  A  little  alteration 
of  the  phrase,  in  such  a  case,  will  often  make  it  more  satisfactory  in  every 
way;  as,  for  example,  "  Who  was  the  person  you  were  speaking  to?" 

The  word  anticipate  is  frequently  misused  in  the  sense  of  expect.  Thus: 
"  I  anticipate  seeing  her  this  evening."  Now,  "  anticipate  "  means,  by  de- 
rivation, to  take  beforehand,  and  its  proper  meaning  in  English  is  to  take 
first  possession  of,  or  to  take  before  the  proper  time.  A  man  may  antici- 
pate another  in  doing  something  which  both  intend  doing;  that  is,  he  may 
succeed  in  doing  it  first.  But  his  looking  forward  to  doing  either  of  these 
acts  is  not  anticipation;  it  is  expectation.  "  Particle  "  is  strangely  used  to 
mean  "  at  all,"  or  "  degree,"  aa  we  very  colloquially  use  "  bit."  Thus, 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          493 

••Did  I  hurt  you?"  asks  a  gentleman  who  has  accidentally  stumbled 
•gainst  another.  "  Not  a  particle,"  is  the  answer.  He  means  not  at  all. 
Particle  literally  means  the  smallest  possit  le  division  of  matter;  and  it  ia 
BO  material  and  mechanical  in  its  signification,  that  the  use  of  it  to  express 
degree,  and  especially  degree  of  pleasure  or  pain,  is,  to  say  the  very  least, 
in  the  worst  possible  taste.  Remember  and  recollect  are  not  synonymous 
terms,  since  we  all  remember  many  things  which  we  cannot  readily 
recollect,  or  re-collect.  Therefore  the  expression,  "  I  don't  remember, 
but  I  will  try  to  recollect,"  is  not  only  correct,  but  it  sets  forth  a  con- 
dition of  the  mind  expressible  in  no  other  way,  and  to  speak  of  which 
wo  have  frequent  necessity.  The  pronoun  "  their  "  is  commonly  misused 
with  reference  t  >  a  singular  noun.  "  If  a  person  is  poor,  they  should  make 
the  best  of  it,"  writes  a  would-be  moralist.  This  is  an  extreme  instance  of 
the  straits  to  which  we  are  driven  by  the  lack  in  English  of  a  pronoun  oi' 
common  gender  meaning  both  he  and  she,  his  and  her.  But,  admitting  this 
lack,  the  fact  remains  that  his  is  the  representative  pronoun,  as  mankind 
includes  both  men  and  women.  To  use  "  his  or  her  "  in  cases  of  this  kind 
is  to  the  last  degree  pedantic.  Many  people  use  the  word  ascetic  as  if  it 
meant  elegant,  refined.  Describing  the  library  of  a  gentleman  of  fashion,  it 
is  said  that  "It  was  just  such  a  collection  of  books  as  a  man  of  his  ascetic 
tastes  would  select."  Now  ascetic  really  means  austere,  rigid.  A  hermit's 
habits  of  life  are  ascetic.  The  writer  of  the  sentence  just  quoted  should 
have  substituted  the  word  luxurious,  or  cultivated. 

Children  closely  follow  the  example  of  their  elders,  particularly  if  said 
example  chances  to  be  a  bad  one.  It  would  be  better  for  our  youth  if  its 
teachers  corrected  the  slang  and  mistakes  of  everyday  life,  and  illustrated 
the  rules  they  teach;  for  one  child  in  a  class  speaking  impure  language  will 
certainly  infect  the  rest.  The  children  of  some  households  speak  with  a 
refined  method,  as  if  by  instinct,  but  it  will  generally  be  traced  to  parents, 
for  we  are  all  influenced  by  our  surroundings.  A  child  lately  questioned  in 
Sunday  school  admitted,  "  I  done  it,"  and  a  young  man  immediately  after 
remarked,  "  They've  went,"  in&tead  of  "  They  have  gone."  By  such  teach- 
ing children  are  unconsciously  influenced.  Well-bred  persons  usually 
speak  slowly,  with  proper  emphasis  and  without  abbreviations.  Every  man 
cannot  possess  a  rich,  full  voice;  it  is  a  heritage  of  some  families,  and 
refreshing  to  listen  to  among  the  shrill,  thin  voices  one  meets  so  often.  But 
cultivation  does  a  great  deal,  and  nothing  is  more  useful  than  to  think  of 
each  word  and  speak  the  simplest  language  without  haste,  yet  at  the  same 
time  without  drawl  or  affectation.  The  abandonment  of  superfluous  ad- 
jectives would  greatly  improve  our  language.  I  was  talking  of  a  poem  to  a 
young  girl  lately,  and  she  said  it  was  "  elegant,"  and  when  I  described  a 
new  kind  of  taffy  she  said  it  was  "  perfectly  lovely."  There  was  neither 
sense  nor  reason  in  this  mixture  of  terms.  Another  young  girl  is  very 
pretty  until  she  opens  her  mouth.  Then  her  first  words  are  likely  to  be, 
"Land  sakes!"  or  "  Clara  an'  me  are  goin',"  clipping  words  and  misplac- 
ing them  till  one  is  reminded  of  poor  Hannah  Jane,  who  spelled  kiss  with 
one  s. 

The  following  are  examples  of  exceedingly  vulgar  yet  by  no  meana 
uncommon  errors  of  speech.  The  italicized  words  are  the  incorrect  ones: 

The  dinner  was  ate  in  silence.    Say  eaten. 

The  doctor  has  not  came  yet.    Say  come. 

I  see  him  last  week.    Say  saw. 

I  Uave  rang  several  times.    Say  I  have  rung,  or  I  rang 


494       CYCLOPAEDIA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Was  you  reading  when  I  came  in  ?    Say  were. 

She  can  read  better  than  me.    Say  better  than  I. 

It  was  given  to  you  and  J.  Say  you  and  me.  You  would  not  say  it  waa 
given  to  I,  neither  should  you  say  "  you  and  I." 

I  have  a  new  pair  of  gloves.  Which  is  new,  the  pair  or  the  gloves  ?  Say 
a  pair  of  new  gloves. 

James  lost  near  about  ten  dollars.    Say  nearly  ten  dollars. 

I  eat  this  cake.     Say  ate. 

A  summer's  morning  is  beautiful.    Say  summer  morning. 

Simple  Rules  for  Spelling — Words  ending  in  e  drop  that  letter  be- 
fore the  termination  able,  as  in  move,  movable;  unless  ending  in  ce  or  ge, 
when  it  is  retained,  as  in  change,  changeable,  etc. 

Words  of  one  syllable  ending  in  a  consonant,  with  a  single  vowel  before 
it,  double  that  consonant  in  derivatives;  as  ship,  shipping,  etc.  But  if  end- 
ing in  a  consonant  with  a  double  vowel  before  it,  they  do  not  double  the 
consonant  in  derivatives;  as  troop,  trooper,  etc. 

Words  of  more  than  one  syllable,  ending  in  a  consonant  preceded  by  a 
single  vowel,  and  accented  on  the  last  syllable,  double  that  consonant  in 
derivatives;  as  commit,  committed;  but  except  chagrin,  chagrined. 

All  words  of  one  syllable  ending  in  Z,  with  a  single  vowel  before  it,  have 
double  II  at  the  close;  as  mill,  sell. 

All  words  of  one  syllable  ending  in  I,  with  a  double  vowel  before  it,  have 
only  one  I  at  the  close;  as  mail,  sail. 

The  words  foretell,  distill,  instill  and  fulfill,  retain  the  double  /  of  their 
primitives.  Derivatives  of  dull,  skill,  will  and  full,  also  retain  the  tt  when 
the  accent  falls  on  these  words;  as  dullness,  skillful,  willful,  fullness. 

Words  of  more  than  one  syllable  ending  in  I  have  only  one  I  at  the  close; 
as  delightful,  faithful;  unless  the  accent  falls  on  the  last  syllable;  as  in 
befall,  etc. 

Words  ending  in  Z  double  that  letter  in  the  termination  ty. 

Participles  ending  in  ing,  from  verbs  ending  in  e,  lose  the  final  e;  as  have, 
having;  make,  making,  etc.;  but  verbs  ending  in  ee  retain  both,  as  see,  see- 
ing. The  word  dye,  to  color,  however,  must  retain  the  e  before  ing. 

All  verbs  ending  in  ly,  and  nouns  ending  in  ment,  retain  the  e  final  of  the 
primitives;  as  brave,  bravely;  refine,  refinement;  except  words  ending  in 
dge;  as  acknowledge,  acknowledgment. 

Nouns  ending  in  y,  preceded  by  a  vowel,  form  their  plural  by  adding  s; 
as  money,  moneys;  but  if  y  is  preceded  by  a  consonant,  it  is  changed  to  ies 
in  the  plural;  as  bounty,  bounties. 

Compound  words  whose  primitives  end  in  y,  change  the  y  into  i;  as 
beauty,  beautiful. 

The  Use  of  Capitals.--!.  Every  entire  sentence  should  begin  with  a 
capital. 

2.  Proper  names,  and  adjectives  derived  from  these,  should  begin  with 
a  capital. 

3.  All  appellations  of  the  Deity  should  begin  with  a  capital. 

4.  Official  and  Honorary  Titles  begin  with  a  capital. 

5.  Every  line  of  poetry  should  begin  with  a  capital. 

6.  Titles  of  books  and  the  beads  of  their  chapters  and  divisions  are 
printed  in  capitals. 

7.  The  pronoun  I,  and  the  exclamation  O,  are  always  capitals. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  495 

8.  The  days  of  the  week,  and  the  months  of  the  year,  begin  with  capi- 
tals. 

9.  Every  quotation  should  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

10.  Names  of  religious  denominations  begin  with  capitals. 

11.  In  preparing  accounts,  each  item  should  begin  with  a  capital. 

12.  Any  word  of  very  special  importance  may  begin  with  a  capital. 

An  Exercise  in  Pronunciation.— The  following  rather  curious 
piece  of  composition  was  once  placed  upon  a  blackboard  at  a  teachers'  in- 
stitute, and  a  prize  of  a  Webster's  Dictionary  offered  to  any  person  who 
could  read  and  pronounce  every  word  correctly.  The  book  was  not  carried 
off,  however,  as  twelve  was  the  lowest  number  of  mistakes  in  the  pronunci- 
ation made:  "  A  sacrilegious  son  of  Belial,  who  suffered  from  bronchitis, 
having  exhausted  his  finances,  in  order  to  make  good  the  deficit,  resolved 
to  ally  himself  to  a  comely,  lenient,  and  docile  young  lady  of  the  Malay  or 
Caucasian  race.  He  accordingly  purchased  a  calliope  and  coral  necklace  of 
a  chameleon  hue,  and  securing  a  suite  of  rooms  at  a  principal  hotel  he  en- 
gaged the  head  waiter  as  a  coadjutor.  He  then  dispatched  a  letter  of  the 
most  unexceptional  caligraphy  extant,  inviting  the  young  lady  to  a  matinee. 
She  revolted  at  the  idea,  refused  to  consider  herself  sacrificable  to  his  de- 
sires, and  sent  a  polite  note  of  refusal;  on  receiving  which  he  procured  a 
carbine  and  bowie-knife,  said  that  ho  would  not  now  forge  letters  hymeneal 
with  the  queen,  wont  to  an  isolated  spot,  severed  his  jugular  vein  and  dis- 
charged the  contents  of  the  carbine  into  his  abdomen.  The  debris  was  re- 
moved by  the  coroner." 

A  Glossary  of  Wall  Street  Phrases.— Headers  interested  in  stocK 
speculations  will  find  the  following  vocabulary  of  terms  used  in  Wall  Street 
worth  remembering: 

A  Butt  is  one  who  operates  to  depress  the  value  of  stocks,  that  he  may 
buy  for  a  rise. 

A  Bear  is  one  who  sells  stocks  for  future  delivery,  which  he  does  not 
own  at  the  time  of  delivery. 

Bear  Market — When  the  market  is  heavy  ana  falling,  and  lower  prices 
are  expected,  in  consequence  of  the  efforts  of  the  "  bear."  A  "  bull  market " 
is  the  reverse. 

Bear  the  market — i.  e.,  operate  for  a  decline.  A  bear  is  naturally 
"  short "  of  stocks,  and  expecting  to  profit  by  a  decline.  To  "  bull  the  mar- 
ket "  is  to  operate  for  a  rise  in  values. 

Short  is  when  a  person  or  party  sells  stocks  when  they  have  none,  and 
expect  to  buy  or  borrow  in  time  to  deliver. 

Long  is  when  a  person  or  party  has  a  plentiful  supply  of  stocks. 

Overloaded  is  when  the  Bulls  cannot  take  and  pay  for  the  stock  they 
have  purchased. 

Borrowing  and  loaning  stocks — When  a  party  has  sold  stock  short  and 
has  not  bought  in  by  the  time  the  delivery  must  be  made,  he  "borrows  " 
the  stock  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  delivery,  paying  the  owner  the 
market  price  on  demand,  or  at  a  fixed  time,  the  lender  of  the  stock  paying 
the  borrower  an  agreed  rate  of  interest  on  the  money,  or  the  borrower  pay- 
ing the  lender  an  agreed  vremium  for  the  use  of  the  stock,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Cover,  to  "  cover  one's  shorts  " — Where  stock  has  been  sold  short  and  the 
seller  buys  it  in  to  realize  his  profit,  or  to  protect  himself  from  loss,  or  to 
make  his  delivery.  This,  is  "  covering  short  sales," 


496       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

A  call — The  privilege  obtained,  for  a  consideration,  of  calling  for  a  cer- 
tain number  of  shares  of  stock,  at  a  given  price,  within  a  time  named. 

Carrying  slock — Holding  stock  by  a  broker  for  his  customers  on  a  mar- 
gin. 

Clique — A  combination  of  operators  formed  for  the  purpose  of  artificially 
influencing  the  market  by  their  combined  operations. 

Corner — When  the  market  is  oversold,  the  shorts,  if  compelled  to  de- 
liver, sometimes  find  themselves  in  a  "  corner." 

Curbstone  Brokers — Men  who  are  not  members  of  any  regular  organiza- 
tion, and  do  business  mainly  upon  the  sidewalk. 

Flyers — Is  a  small  side  operation,  not  employing  one's  whole  capital,  or 
not  in  the  line  of  his  ordinary  operations. 

Lamb — A  very  green  "  outsider  "  who  essays  stock  speculation. 

Limited  order — An  order  to  buy  and  sell  within  a  certain  fixed  price, 
above  or  below  which  the  party  giving  the  order  does  not  wish  to  go. 

Margins — Where  one  buys  or  sells  for  speculation,  and  deposits  with  his 
broker  a  percentage  of  value  to  enable  the  latter  to  "  carry  "  the  stock  and 
protect  him  against  loss  from  fluctuations  in  value. 

Milking  (he  streets — The  act  of  cliques  or  great  operators  who  hold  cer- 
tain stock  so  well  in  hand  that  they  cause  any  fluctuations  they  please.  By 
alternately  lifting  and  depressing  prices,  they  "milk"  the  small  operators 
and  the  outside. 

Put— To  buy  a  "  put "  is  to  obtain  the  right,  for  a  consideration,  to  de- 
liver a  stock  at  a  certain  agreed  price  within  a  given  number  of  days. 

Slop  order — An  order  to  sell  out  stock  in  case  it  should  decline  to  a  cer- 
tain price  or  to  buy  short  stock  in  case  it  should  advance  to  a  certain  price. 
A  means  adopted  by  a  party  "  long  "  or  "  short "  of  a  stock  to  limit  his  loss 
to  a  certain  figure. 

Turn  slocks — Consists  in  buying  for  cash  or  regular  way  and  selling  a 
like  amount  of  the  same  sto.sk  at  the  same  time,  on  "  option,"  thereby  mak- 
ing six  per  cent,  interest  and  difference  that  may  exist  at  the  time  between 
the  market  price  of  the  stock  for  cash  and  an  option;  or  selling  for  cash  and 
buying  on  option,  when  the  stock  is  hard  to  carry  and  the  holder,  hoping 
for  a  rise,  does  not  want  to  get  out  of  it. 

Washing — Is  where  one  broker  arranges  with  another  to  pay  a  certain 
stock  when  he  offers  it  for  sale.  The  bargain  is  fictitious,  and  the  effort, 
when  not  detected,  is  to  keep  it  quoted  and  afford  a  basis  for  bona-fide 
sales.  It  is  not  countenanced  by  the  rules  of  exchange,  and  if  discovered 
renders  members  engaged  in  it  liable  to  the  penalty  of  expulsion. 

Commerce  of  the  World.— France  exports  wines,  brandies,  silks, 
fancy  articles,  furniture,  jewelry,  clocks,  watches,  paper,  perfumery  and 
fancy  goods  generally. 

Italy  exports  corn,  oil,  flax,  flour,  wines,  essences,  dye-stuffs,  drugs,  fine 
marble,  noap,  paintings,  engravings,  molasses  and  salt. 

Prussia  exports  linen,  woollens,  zinc,  articles  of  copper,  iron  and  brass, 
indigo,  wax,  hams,  musical  instruments,  tobacco,  wines  and  porcelain. 

Germany  exports  wool,  woollen  goods,  linens,  rags,  corn,  timber,  iron, 
lead,  tin,  flax,  hemp,  wines,  wax,  tallow  and  cattle. 

Austria  exports  minerals,  raw  and  manufactured  silk  thread,  glass,  wax, 
tar,  nutgall,  wine,  honey  and  mathematical  instruments. 

England  exports  cottons,  woollens,  glass,  hardware,  earthenware,  cut- 
lery, iron,  metallic  wares,  salt,  coal,  watches,  tin,  silk  and  linens, 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  497 

Russia  exports  tallow,  flax,  hemp,  flour,  iron,  linseed,  lard,  hides,  wax, 
duck,  cordage,  bristles,  fur  and  potash. 

Spain  exports  wines,  brandies,  iron,  fresh  and  dried  fruits,  quicksilver, 
sulphur,  salt,  cork,  saffron,  anchovies  and  woollens. 

China  exports  tea,  rhubarb,  musk,  ginger,  borax,  zinc,  Bilks,  cassia,  fili- 
gree work,  ivory  ware,  lacquered  ware  and  porcelain. 

Turkey  exports  opium,  silks,  drugs,  gums,  dried  fruits,  tobacco,  wines, 
camels'  hair,  carpets,  shawls,  camlets  and  morocco. 

Hindostan  exports  gold  and  silver,  cochineal,  indigo,  sarsaparilla,  va- 
nilla, jalap,  fustic,  Campeachy  wood,  pimento,  drugs  and  dyestuffs. 

Brazil  exports  coffee,  indigo,  sugar,  rice,  hides,  dried  meats,  tallow, 
gold,  diamonds  and  other  stones,  gums,  mahogany  and  India-rubber. 

The  West  Indies  export  sugar,  molasses,  rum,  tobacco,  cigars,  mahog- 
any, dye-woods,  coffee,  pimento,  fresh  fruits  and  preserves,  wax,  ginger, 
and  other  spices. 

East  India  exports  cloves,  nutmegs,  mace,  pepper,  rice,  indigo,  gold, 
dung,  camphor,  benzine,  sulphur,  ivory,  rattan,  oandalwood,  zinc  and  nuts. 

The  United  States  export  principally  agricultural  produce,  tobacco,  cot- 
ton, flour,  provisions  of  all  kinds,  lumber,  turpentine,  agricultural  imple- 
ments, sewing  machines,  cotton  goods,  cutlery,  builders'  hardware,  furni- 
ture, locomotives,  munitions  of  war,  gold,  silver,  quicksilver,  and  so  forth. 

Curious  Facts  in  Natural  History — Man  generally  flatters  him- 
self that  his  anatomy  is  about  the  highest  effort  of  Divine  skill;  yet  that 
of  the  insect  is  far  more  complicated.  No  portion  of  our  organism  can 
compare  with  the  proboscis  of  the  common  fly.  Man  can  boast  370  mus- 
cles. Lyonet,  who  spent  his  whole  life  in  watching  a  single  speciea  of  cat- 
erpillar, discovered  in  it  4,000.  The  common  fly  has  8,000  eyes,  and  certain 
butterflies  25,000.  M.  Pouchet  treats  it  as  an  established  fact  that  so  fine 
are  the  sensory  organs  of  ants,  that  they  converse  by  means  of  their  an- 
tennae. Consequently  the  strength  and  activity  of  insects  far  surpasses 
ours  in  proportion.  In  the  whole  field  of  natural  science  there  is  nothing 
more  astounding  than  the  number  of  times  a  fly  can  clap  its  wings  in  a 
second.  As  the  fly  passes  through  space  at  the  rate  of  six  feet  in  a  second, 
it  must  in  that  point  ot  time  vibrate  its  wings  five  or  six  hundred  times. 
But  in  rapid  flight  we  are  required  to  believe  3,600  is  a  moderate  estimate. 
The  mind  is  stupefied  if  it  attempts  to  realize  these  results. 

Toads  are  not  the  only  animals  which  have  the  power  of  living  for  a  con- 
siderable time  without  nourishment  and  communication  with  the  external 
air.  Two  living  worms  were  found  in  Spain  in  the  middle  of  a  block  of 
marble  which  a  sculptor  was  carving  into  a  lion  for  the  royal  family.  These 
worms  occupied  two  small  cavities,  to  which  there  was  no  inlet  that  could 
possibly  admit  the  air.  They  subsisted,  probably,  on  the  marble,  as  they 
were  of  the  same  color.  This  fact  was  verified  by  Captain  Ulloa,  a  fam- 
ous Spaniard,  who  accompanied  the  French  Academicians  in  their  voyage 
to  Peru  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  figure  of  the  earth.  He  asserts 
that  he  saw  these  two  worms.  A  beetle  of  the  species  called  capricom  was 
found  in  a  piece  of  wood  in  the  hold  of  a  ship  at  Plymouth.  The  wood  had 
no  external  mark  of  any  aperture.  We  read  in  the  Affiches  de  Province, 
June,  1772,  that  an  adder  was  found  alive  in  the  center  of  a  block  of  marble 
thirty  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  folded  nine  times  round  in  a  spiral  line:  it 
was  incapable  of  supporting  air,  and  died  a  few  minutes  after.  Upon  ex- 
amining the  stone,  not  the  smallest  trace  was  to  be  found  by  which  it  could 


498       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

have  glided  in,  or  received  it.  Misson,  in  his  travels  through  Italy,  men- 
tions a  cray-nsh  that  was  found  alive  in  the  midst  of  a  mass  of  marble  in 
the  environs  of  Tivoli.  M.  Peyssonel,  king's  physician  at  Guadaloupe,  hav- 
ing ordered  a  pit  to  be  dug  at  tne  back  of  his  house,  was  told  by  the  work- 
men that  live  frogs  were  found  by  them  in  beds  of  petrifaction.  M.  Peys- 
eonel,  suspecting  some  deceit,  descended  into  the  pit,  dug  the  bed  of  rock 
and  petrifactions,  and  drew  out  green  frogs,  which  were  alive  and  exactly 
similar  to  what  we  see  every  day. 

Serpents  are  said  to  obey  the  voice  of  their  master.  The  trumpet-bird 
of  America  follows  its  owner  like  a  spaniel,  and  the  jacana  acts  as  a  guard 
to  poultry,  protecting  them  in  the  field  all  day  from  birds  of  prey,  and  es- 
corting them  home  at  night.  In  the  Shetland  Isles  there  is  a  gull  which  de- 
fends the  flock  from  eagles;  it  is  therefore  regarded  as  the  privileged  bird. 
The  chamois,  bounding  over  the  mountain,  are  indebted  to  their  safety  in 
no  small  degree,  to  a  species  of  pheasants.  The  bird  acts  as  the  sentinel; 
for  as  soon  as  it  gets  sight  of  a  man,  it  whistles,  upon  hearing  which,  the 
chamois,  knowing  the  hunters  to  be  near,  sets  off  at  full  speed.  The  arti- 
fices which  partridges  and  plovers  employ  to  delude  their  enemies  from  the 
nest  of  their  young,  may  be  referred  to  as  a  case  in  point,  as  well  as  the 
adroit  contrivances  of  the  hind  for  the  preservation  of  her  young;  for  when 
ehe  hears  the  sound  of  dogs,  she  puts  herself  in  the  way  of  the  hunter,  and 
starts  in  a  direction  to  draw  them  away  from  her  fawns.  Instances  of  the 
effect  of  grief  upon  animals  are  no  less  remarkable.  The  writer  already 
cited  says:  "  I  knew  a  dog  that  died  of  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  his  master,  and 
a  bullfinch  that  abstained  from  singing  ten  entire  months,  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  its  mistress.  On  her  return  it  immediately  resumed  its  song." 
Lord  Kaimes  relates  an  instance  of  a  canary  which,  while  singing  to  a  mate, 
hatching  her  eggs  in  a  cage,  fell  dead;  the  female  left  the  nest,  and  finding 
him  dead,  rejected  all  food,  and  died  by  his  side. 

Toads  become  torpid  in  winter  and  hide  themselves,  taking  no  food  for 
five  or  six  months. 

Serpents  of  all  species  shed  their  skins  annually,  like  sea-crabs  and 
lobsters. 

Turtles  and  tortoises  have  their  skeletons  partly  outside  hi  place  of 
within  then:  bodies. 

It  is  believed  that  crocodiles  live  to  be  hundreds  of  years  old.  The 
Egyptians  embalmed  them. 

In  South  America  there  is  a  prolific  honey-bee  which  has  not  been  fur- 
nished with  a  sting. 

In  the  darkest  night,  fishes  pursue  their  usual  movements  the  same  as 
by  daylight. 

Seals  are  as  intelligent  as  dogs,  and  can  be  trained  to  perform  many 
tricks  like  them. 

The  head  of  the  rattlesnake  has  been  known  to  inflict  a  fatal  wound  after 
being  severed  from  the  body. 

If  the  eye  of  a  newt  is  put  out,  another  perfect  one  is  soon  supplied  by 
rapid  growth. 

Fishes  have  no  eyelids,  and  necessarily  sleep  with  their  eyes  wide 
open. 

Alligators  fall  into  a  lethargic  sleep  during  the  winter  season,  like  the 
toad. 

The  power  of  serpents  to  charm  birds  and  small  quadrupeds  is  a  well 
authenticated  fact. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          499 

Duration  of  Life  of  Various  Animals.  -Elephant,  100  years  and 
upward;  Rhinoceros,  20;  Camel,  100;  Lion,  25  to  70;  Tigers,  Leopards, 
Jaguars  and  Hyenas  (in  confinement),  about  25;  Beaver,  50;  Deer,  20; 
Wolf,  20;  Fox,  14  to  16;  Llamas,  15;  Chamois,  25;  Monkeys  and  Baboons, 
16  to  18;  Hare,  8;  Squirrel,  7;  Babbit,  7;  Swine,  25;  Stag,  under  50;  Horse, 
30;  Ass,  30;  Sheep,  under  10;  Cow,  20;  Ox,  30;  Swans,  Parrots  and  Ra- 
vens, 200;  Eagle,  100;  Geese,  80;  Hens  and  Pigeons,  10  to  16;  Hawks, 
30  to  40;  Crane,  24;  Blackbird,  10  to  12;  Peacock,  20;  Pelican,  40  to  50; 
Thrush,  8  to  10;  Wren,  2  to  3;  Nightingale,  15;  Blackcap,  15;  Linnet,  14  to 
23;  Goldfinch,  20  to  24;  Redbreast,  10  to  12;  Skylark,  10  to  30;  Titlark,  5  to 
6;  Chaffinch,  20  to  24;  Starling,  10  to  12;  Carp,  70  to  150;  Pike,  30  to  40;  Sal- 
mon, 16;  Codfish,  14  to  17;  Eel,  10;  Crocodiles,  100;  Tortoise,  100  to  200; 
Whale,  estimated,  1,000;  Queen  Bees  live  4  years;  Drones,  4  months;  Worker 
Bees,  6  months. 

Origin  of  the  Names  of  States. — Maine  takes  its  name  from  the 
province  of  Main  in  France,  and  was  so  called  in  compliment  to  the  queen 
of  Charles  I,  Henrietta,  its  owner. 

New  Hampshire,  first  called  Laconia,  from  Hampshire,  England. 

Vermont,  from  the  Green  Mountains.     (French:  vert  mont.) 

Massachusetts,  from  the  Indian  language,  signifying  the  country  about 
the  great  hills. 

Rhode  Island  gets  its  name  from  the  fancied  resemblance  of  the  island 
to  that  of  Rhodes  in  the  ancient  Levant. 

Connecticut's  was  Monegan,  spelled  originally  Quon-eh-ta-cut,  signifying 
"a  long  river." 

New  York  was  so  named  as  a  compliment  to  the  Duke  of  York,  \»hose 
brother,  Charles  II,  granted  him  that  territory. 

New  Jersey  was  named  by  one  of  its  original  proprietors,  Sir  George 
Carter,  after  the  Island  of  Jersey  in  the  British  Channel,  of  which  he  was 
governor. 

Pennsylvania,  as  is  generally  known,  takes  its  name  from  William  Penn, 
and  the  words  "Bylvania,"  meaning  woods. 

Delaware  derives  its  name  from  Thomas  West,  Lord  De  la  Ware,  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia. 

Maryland  receives  its  name  from  the  queen  of  Charles  I,  Henrietta  Maria. 

Virginia  got  its  name  from  Queen  Elizabeth,  unmarried,  or  virgin  queen. 

The  Carolinas  were  named  in  honor  of  Charles  I,  and  Georgia  in  honor 
of  Charles  II. 

Flonda  gets  its  name  from  Kasquas  de  Flores,  or  "  Feast  of  the  Flowers." 

Alabama  comes  from  a  Greek  word,  signifying  "  the  land  of  the  rest." 

Louisiana  was  so  named  in  honor  of  Louis  XIV. 

Mississippi  derived  its  name  from  that  of  the  great  river,  which  is,  in  the 
Natchez  tongue,  "  the  father  of  waters." 

Arkansas  is  derived  from  the  Indian  word  Kansas,  "  smoky  waters,"  with 
the  French  prefix  of  "  ark  " — a  bow. 

Tennessee  is  an  Indian  name,  meaning  "  the  river  with  the  big  bend." 

Kentucky  also  is  an  Indian  name—"  Kain-tuk-se,"  signifying  "  at  the  head 
of  the  river." 

Ohio  is  the  Shawnee  name  for  "  the  beautiful  river." 

Michigan's  name  was  derived  from  the  lake,  the  Indian  name  for  fish- 
weir,  or  trap,  which  the  shape  of  the  lake  suggested. 

Indiana's  name  came  from  that  of  the  Indians. 


600      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Illinois'  name  is  derived  from  the  Indian  word  "  Illini " — men,  and  the 
French  affix,  "  ois,"  making  "  tribe  of  men." 

Wisconsin's  name  is  said  to  be  the  Indian  name  for  a  wild,  rushing 
channel. 

Missouri  is  also  an  Indian  name  for  muddy,  having  reference  to  the 
muddiness  of  the  Missouri  Eiver. 

Kansas  is  an  Indian  word  for  smoky  water. 

Iowa  signifies  in  the  Indian  language  "  the  drowsy  ones,"  and  Minnesota 
"  a  cloudy  water." 

Origin  of  the  Names  of  Countries — The  following  countries,  it 
is  said,  were  originally  named  by  the  Phoenicians,  the  greatest  commer- 
cial people  in  the  world.  The  names,  in  the  Phoenician  language,  signified 
something  characteristic  of  the  places  which  they  designate. 

Europe  signifies  a  country  of"  white  complexion,  so  named  because  the 
inhabitants  were  of  a  lighter  complexion  than  those  of  Asia  and  Africa. 

Asia  signifies  between  or  in  the  middle,  from  the  fact  that  the  geogra- 
phers placed  it  between  Europe  and  Africa. 

Africa  signifies  the  land  of  corn  or  ears.  It  was  celebrated  for  its  abund- 
ance of  corn,  and  all  sorts  of  grain. 

Siberia  signifies  thirsty  or  dry — very  characteristic. 

Spain,  a  country  of  rabbits  or  conies.  It  was  once  so  infested  with  these 
animals  that  it  sued  Augusta  for  an  army  to  destroy  them. 

Italy,  a  country  of  pitch,  from  its  yielding  great  quantities  of  black  pitch. 

Calabria,  also,  for  the  same  reason. 

Gaul,  modern  France,  signifies  yellow-haired,  as  yellow  hair  character- 
izes its  inhabitants. 

The  English  of  Caledonia  is  a  high  hill.  This  was  a  rugged  mountainous 
province  in  Scotland. 

Hibernia  is  utmost,  or  last  habitation;  for  beyond  this  westward  the 
Phoenicians  never  extended  their  voyages. 

Britain,  the  country  of  tin,  great  quantities  being  found  on  it  and  adja- 
cent islands.  The  Greeks  called  it  Albion,  which  signifies  in  the  Phoenician 
tongue  either  white  or  high  mountains,  from  the  whiteness  of  its  shores,  or 
the  high  rocks  on  the  western  coast. 

Corsica  signifies  a  woody  place. 

Sardinia  signifies  the  footsteps  of  men,  which  it  resembles. 

Syracuse,  bad  savor,  so-called  from  the  unwholesome  marsh  on  which  it 
stood. 

Rhodes,  serpents  or  dragons,  which  it  produced  in  abundance. 

Sicily,  the  country  of  grapes. 

Scylla,  the  whirlpool  of  destruction. 

.aStua  signifies  a  furnace,  or  dark  or  smoky. 

Origin  of  Popular  Fables — Few  persons  are  aware  that  many  of 
the  most  popular  nursery  rhymes  and  stories  have  an  origin  quite  different 
from  what  is  usually  supposed.  Thus,  it  is  generally  thought  that  the 
story  of  Cinderella  was  invented  by  some  one  in  a  happy  fit  of  imagination; 
but  it  is  said  to  be  founded  on  facts.  The  Greek  historian  and  geographer 
Strabo  says  that  one  day  as  a  lady,  named  Rhodopsis,  was  bathing  in  the 
Nile,  the  wind  carried  away  one  of  her  sandals  and  laid  it  at  the  feet  of  the 
king  of  Egypt,  who  was  then  holding  a  court  of  justice  in  the  open  air,  not 
far  off.  His  curiosity  was  excited  by  the  singularity  of  the  event,  and  by 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  501 

the  elegance  of  the  sandal,  and  he  offered  a  reward  for  the  discovery  of  the 
owner  of  it.  The  lady  claimed  it,  and  it  was  found  to  fit  her  exactly.  She 
was  very  beautiful,  and  the  king  married  her.  She  is  remembered  in 
history  as  the  "  rosy-cheeked  queen  "  of  Egypt,  and  she  lived  2,000  years 
before  the  Christian  era. 

The  story  of  Blue  Beard  has  also  been  traced  to  a  historical  basis.  Giles 
de  Laval,  Marshal  of  France,  in  1428,  was  distinguished  for  his  military 
abilities,  but  he  rendered  himself  infamous  by  his  extraordinary  impiety 
and  debaucheries,  and  by  murdering  his  wives.  He  had  a  long  beard  of  a 
blue-black  color,  whence  he  was  called  Blue  Beard.  He  employed  those 
who  pretended  to  be  sorcerers  to  discover  hidden  treasures,  and  he  cor- 
rupted young  persons  of  both  sexes  to  attach  them  to  him,  after  which  he 
killed  them  for  the  sake  of  their  blood,  which  he  used  for  his  incantations. 
By  order  of  the  Duke  of  Brittany  he  was  burned  alive  in  a  field  near 
Nantes,  in  the  year  1440. 

Jack  the  Giant  Killer  has  been  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  wars  of 
King  Arthur  with  his  rebellious  Cornish  vassals,  who  figure  as  ogies  and 
giants,  while  the  king  appears  as  Jack.  Many  more  cases  may  be  cited. 

"  The  House  that  Jack  Built "  had  interesting  antecedents.  This  famous 
jingling  legend,  believed  to  be  an  imitation  of  a  medieval  Hebrew  parable 
in  the  form  of  a  hymn,  was  commemorative  of  the  principal  events  in  the 
history  of  the  Jewish  people.  The  original  is  to  be  found  in  the  Jewish  col- 
lection called  the  Sepher  Aaggahah,  volume  23,  and  an  interpretation  of  it 
was  given  to  the  world  so  far  back  as  1731.  by  P.  N.  Lebrecht,  of  Leipsic. 
There  are  ten  verses.  The  first  consists  of  two  lines  and  a  short  refrain, 
thus:  "  A  kid,  a  kid  my  father  bought  for  two  pieces  of  money."  (Refrain), 
"  A  kid,  a  kid."  This  refrain  is  repeated  at  the  end  of  each  verse.  The 
second  verse  commences  with  the  words:  "  Then  came  the  cat  and  ate  the 
kid  that  my  father  bought  for  two  pieces  of  money."  The  third  verse  runs: 
"  Then  came  the  dog,  and  bit  the  cat  that  ate  the  kid,"  etc.  The  fourth  is: 
"  Then  came  the  staff,  and  beat  the  dog,  that  bit  the  cat,"  etc.  The  fifth  is: 
"  Then  came  the  fire  and  burned  the  stick,  that  beat  the  dog,"  etc.  The 
sixth  is:  "Then  came  the  water,  and  quenched  the  fire  that  burned  the 
staff,"  etc.  The  seventh  is:  "  Then  came  the  ox,  and  drank  the  water,  that 
quenched  the  fire,"  etc.  The  eighth  is:  "Then  came  the  butcher,  and 
slew  the  ox,  that  drank  the  water,"  etc.  The  ninth  is:  "  Then  came  the 
angel  of  death,  and  killed  the  butcher,  that  slew  the  ox,"  etc.  The  tenth 
and  last  runs:  "  Then  came  the  Holy  One,  blessed  be  He,  and  killed  the 
angel  of  death,  that  killed  the  butcher,  that  slew  the  ox,  that  drank  the 
waler,  that  quenched  the  fire,  that  burned  the  staff,  that  beat  the  dog,  that 
bit  the  cat,  that  ate  the  kid,  that  my  father  bought  for  two  pieces  of  money; 
a  kid,  a  kid."  It  is  evident  that  this  is  the  model  of  "  The  House  that  Jack 
Built." 

Origin  of  Familiar  Quotations.— Thomas  Norton  is  the  author  of 
that  "  cute "  saying,  "  What  will  Mrs.  Grundy  say  ?  "  while  Washington 
Irving  gives  us  "  The  Mighty  Dollar."  "  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the 
shorn  lamb,"  not  infrequently  attributed  to  Scripture  writer,  is  from  Law- 
rence Sterne.  Dean  Swift  says  that  "  Bread  is  the  staff  of  life,"  and  "A  little 
learning  is  a  dangerous  thing."  The  same  sentiment  is  expressed  in  Pope's 
well-known  line,  "  Drink  deep,  or  taste  not  the  Pierian  spring."  It  is  not  at 
all  unlikely  that  he  derived  it  from  Lord  Bacon,  who  in  bis  "  Essay  on 
Atheism,"  saya: 


502      C  YCL  0  P  jEV  I A    OF    USEF  UL    KNO  WL  El)  ffK 

"  A  little  philosophy  inclineth  man's  '.aind  to  Atheism,  but  depth  in 
philosophy  bringeth  man's  mind  about  to  religion."  Pope  tells  us  to 
"  shoot  folly  as  it  flies;  "  was  it  suggested  by  Dryden's  "  and  shoots  thc.r 
treasons  as  they  fly?" — found  in  his  Absolom.  Lady  Wortley  Montague 
eays:  "  I  admired  Mr  Pope's  'Essay  on  Criticism  '  at  first  very  much,  be- 
cause I  had  not  then  ruad  any  ot  the  ancient  critics  and  did  not  know  that 
it  was  c.U  s'.olen."  This  is,  of  course,  not  to  be  taken  literally,  but  it  is  a 
well-known,  indisputable  fact  that  poets — and  not  they  only — are  imitators 
and  borrowers,  and  to  put  it  mildly,  unconscious  plagiarists.  Of  course, 
Byron  was  but  jesting  when  he  said  to  Moore,  who,  observing  a  book  beside 
him  full  of  paper  marks,  asked  him  what  it  was,  replied:  "Only  a  book 
from  which  I  am  trying  to  crib,  as  I  do  whenever  I  can,  and  that's  the  way 
I  got  the  character  of  an  original  poet."  He  wrote,  however,  in  his  journal, 
"As  for  originality,  all  pretentious  to  it  are  ridiculous;  there  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun." 

"  Like  angels'  visits,  few  and  far  between,"  found  in  Campbell's  Pleas- 
ures of  Hope,  seems  to  bo  an  echo  of  this  from  Blair's  Grave:  "Its  visits, 
like  those  of  angels,  short  and  far  between." 

Cowper's  oft-quoted  line, 

"  England,  with  all  thy  faults  I  love  thee  still," 
is  almost  verbatim  this  found  in  Churchill's  Farewell, 
"  Be  England  what  she  will 
With  all  her  faults  she  is  my  country  still.'' 

"Variety  is  the  spice  of  life,"  and  "Not  much  the  worse  for  wear," 
Cowper.  "  Man  proposes  but  God  disposes,"  Thomas  a  Kempis.  "  Of 
two  evils  choose  the  least,"  and  "  The  end  must  justify  the  means,"  are 
from  Matthew  Prior. 

Origin  of  Genius. — Columbus  was  the  eon  of  a  weaver  and  a  weaver 
himself. 

Rabelais,  son  of  an  apothecary. 

Claude  Lorraine  was  bred  a  pastry  cook. 

Moliere,  son  of  a  tapestry  maker. 

Cervantes  served  as  a  common  soldier. 

Homer  was  a  beggar. 

Hesiod  was  the  son  of  a  small  farmer. 

Demosthenes  of  a  cutler. 

Terence  was  a  slave. 

Bichardson  was  a  printer. 

Oliver  Cromwell,  the  son  of  a  brewer. 

Howard,  an  apprentice  to  a  grocer. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  a  journeyman  printer. 

Doctor  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  son  of  a  linen  draper. 

Whitfield,  son  of  an  inn-keeper  at  Gloucester. 

Sir  Cloudosley  Shovel,  Bear- Admiral  of  England,  was  an  apprentice  to  a 
shoemaker,  and  afterward  a  cabin  boy. 

Bishop  Prideaux  worked  in  the  kitchen  at  Exeter  College,  Oxford. 

Cardinal  Wolsey,  son  of  a  butcher. 

Ferguson  was  a  shepherd. 

Neibuhr  was  a  peasant. 

Thomas  Paine,  son  of  a  staymaker  at  Thetfbrd. 

Dean  Tucker  was  the  son  of  a  small  fanner  in  Cardignehire,  and  per- 
formed journeys  to  Oxlord  on  foot. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  503 

Edmund  Halley  was  the  son  of  a  soap  boiler  at  Shoreditch. 

Joseph  Hall,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  son  of  a  farmer  at  Ashby  do  la  Zouch. 

William  Hogarth  was  put  apprentice  to  an  engraver  of  pewter  pots. 

Dr.  Mountain,  Bishop  of  Durham,  waa  the  Bon  of  a  beggar. 

Lucian  was  the  son  of  a  statuary. 

Virgil  of  a  potter. 

Horace  of  a  shopkeeper. 

Plautus,  .TI  baker. 

Gay  was  apprenticed  to  a  silk  mercer. 

Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  was  the  son  of  a  bookseller  at  Litchfield. 

Akenside,  son  of  a  butcher  at  Newcastle. 

Collins,  son  of  a  hatter. 

Samuel  Butler,  son  of  a  farmer. 

Ben  Jonson  worked  for  some  time  as  a  bricklayer. 

Eobert  Burns  was  a  plowman  in  Ayrshire. 

Thomas  Chatterton,  son  of  the  sexton  of  Redcliffe  Church,  Bristol. 

Thomas  Gray  was  the  son  of  a  money  scrivener. 

Matthew  Prior,  son  of  a  joiner  in  London. 

Origin  of  Plants. — The  potato  is  a  native  of  South  America,  and  is 
still  found  wild  in  Peru,  Chili,  and  Montevideo.  The  first  notice  of  it  by 
Europeans  was  in  1588.  It  is  now  spread  over  a  great  part  of  the  world. 
Wheat  and  rye  originated  in  Siberia  and  Tartary,  where  they  are  now  in- 
digenous. Oats  are  found  wild  in  Abyssinia,  and  may  be  justly  considered 
natural  to  the  country.  Maize,  or  Indian  corn,  is  a  native  of  Mexico  and 
other  parts  of  North  America.  It  was  not  known  in  Europe  till  after  the 
discovery  and  possession  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards.  The  bread-fruit  tree 
was  first  found  in  Otaheite  and  other  South-sea  islands.  Near  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  it  was  transplanted  in  the  West  Indies.  Tea  is  found  only 
in  China  and  Japan.  The  cocoa-nut  is  found  indigenous  in  the  equatorial 
regions.  Coffee  is  a  native  of  Arabia,  and  of  that  part  called  Arabia  Felix, 
but  is  now  grown  in  the  East  and  West  Indies.  The  apple  is  found  on  most 
parts  of  the  globe.  But  in  its  wild  or  natural  state,  it  is  merely  the  crab 
apple,  and  has  been  varied  and  improved  by  cultivation.  The  peach  is  a 
native  of  Persia,  but  in  its  natural  state  is  small  and  bitter,  or  acid,  and 
considered  unwholesome.  Tobacco  is  a  native  of  South  America  and  c? 
Mexico.  A  species  of  this  plant  has  been  lately  found  in  New  Holland. 
Asparagus  was  brought  from  Asia;  cabbage  and  lettuce  from  Holland;  rice 
from  Ethiopia  and  from  the  East  Indies,  and  onions  from  Africa  and  some 
parts  of  Asia.  The  sugar  cane  is  a  native  of  China,  and  the  manufacture  of 
sugar  was  known  there  from  the  remotest  antiquity.  It  was  thence  car- 
ried to  Arabia,  thence  to  Egypt,  and  thence  by  the  Moors  into  Spain,  and 
thence  to  the  West  Indies  and  Brazil.  Many  flowers  are  from  Java  and 
Ceylon,  from  Cappadocia,  from  Syria  and  Italy. 

Dying  Words  of  Famous  Persons — "  It  is  well."— Washington. 

"  I  must  sleep  now."— Byron. 

"Head  of  the  army." — Napoleon. 

"  Don't  give  up  the  ship." — Lawrence. 

"  Let  the  light  enter."— Goethe. 

"  Independence  forever."— Adams. 

"  Is  this  your  fidelity?" — Nero. 

"  Give  Dayroles  a  chair." — Lord  Chesterfield. 


504       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

"It  is  the  last  of  earth."— J.  Q.  Adaras. 

"  God  preserve  the  emperor." — Haydn. 

"A  dying  man  does  nothing  well." — Franklin. 

"  Let  not  poor  Nelly  starve."— Charles  II. 

"  What,  is  there  no  bribing  death?" — Cardinal  Beaufort. 

"  All  my  possessions  for  a  moment  of  time." — Queen  Elizabeth. 

"  It  matters  little  how  the  head  lieth." — Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 

"  Clasp  my  hand,  my  dear  friend,  I  die." — Alfleri. 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  were  to  be  myself  again." — Sir  Walter  Scott. 

"  Let  me  die  to  the  sound  oi  delicious  music." — Mirabeau. 

"I  have  loved  God,  my  father  and  liberty." — Mme.  de  Stael, 

"  It  is  small,  very  small  indeed  "  (clasping  her  neck). — Anne  Boleyn. 

"  I  pray  you  see  me  safe  up,  and  for  my  coming  down  let  me  shift  for 
myself"  (ascending  the  scaffold). — Sir  Thomas  More. 

"  Don't  let  that  awkward  squad  fire  over  my  grave." — Burns. 

"I  resign  my  soul  to  God — and  my  daughter  to  my  country." — Thomas 
Jefferson. 

"  I  wish  you  to  understand  the  true  principles  of  the  Government.  I 
wish  them  carried  out.  I  ask  nothing  more." — Harrison. 

"  I  have  endeavored  to  do  my  duty." — Taylor. 

"You  spoke  of  refreshment,  my  Emilie;  take  my  last  notes,  sit  down  to 
my  piano  here,  sing  them  with  the  hymn  of  your  sainted  mother;  let  me 
hear  once  more  those  notes  which  have  so  long  been  my  solacement  and 
delight." — Mozart. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear." — Dr.  Johnson. 

"  God  bless  you  I    IB  that  you,  Dora?" — Wordsworth. 

"  Now  it  is  come." — John  Knox. 

"  Dying,  dying." — Hood. 

"  How  grand  these  rays;  they  seem  to  beckon  earth  to  heaven  "  (the  sun 
was  shining  brilliantly  into  the  room  in  which  he  was  lying.) — Humboldt. 

Idiosyncrasies  of  Men  of  Genius.— Most  geniuses  and  men  of 
great  talent  have  been  known  for  some  peculiar  habit  or  striking  idiosyn- 
crasy. Napoleon  would  tremble  with  fear  at  sight  of  a  cat.  General  El- 
liott, of  Gibraltar  fame,  was  always  accompanied  by  a  number  of  them. 
Johnson  liked  to  imbibe  floods  of  tea  or  wine,  and  yet  be  none  the  worse  lor 
it.  Porson  drank  everything  that  came  in  his  way.  Visiting  once  a  friend's 
house,  when  evening  came  they  desired  to  feed  the  lamp,  but  the  bottle  was 
empty.  Porson  had  drank  the  spirits  on  the  sly,  not  knowing  it  was  intended 
for  the  lamp.  Douglas  Jerrold  could  not  bear  the  smell  of  apples.  Caven- 
dish hated  women.  If  he  met  one  of  his  own  female  servants  by  accident 
in  any  part  of  the  house,  she  was  instantly  dismissed.  Garrick  was  vain 
almost  to  the  degree  of  insanity.  Rousseau  was  vain  and  could  not  write 
except  when  dressed  as  a  fop.  Bulwer  Lytton,  it  is  said,  could  write  best 
when  dressed  in  a  court  suit.  Marlborough  was  a  miser,  mended  his  own 
stockings  to  save  paying  for  it,  and  would  walk  home  ever  so  late  at  night 
rather  than  pay  for  a  "chair."  Napoleon  did  his  "thinking"  and 
formed  hia  plans  for  conquest  while  pacing  in  a  garden,  shrugging  his 
shoulders  now  and  then  as  if  to  help  and  "  coir  press  "  thought.  When 
Thiers  was  engaged  in  his  long  and  oratorical  displays  he  always  had  be- 
aide  him  a  supply  of  rum  and  coffee.  The  coffee  he  got  direct  from  Mecca. 
Gibson  dictated  while  walking  in  his  room,  like  Scott  and  many  others. 
Moliere  wrote  with  his  knees  near  the  fire,  and  Bacon  liked  to  study  in  a 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLA NEOtfS.          505 

small  room,  which,  ho  said,  helped  him  to  condense  his  thoughts.  George 
Stephenson  used  to  lie  in  bed  for  two  or  three  days,  the  better  to  "  think 
out "  his  plan.  It  would  be  better  if  people  do  this  who  have  much  thinking 
to  do,  as  rest  favors  thought,  and  those  who  have  not  a  vigorous  circulation 
find  the  supply  of  blood  to  the  brain  assisted  by  a  recumbent  position. 

Pate  of  the  Apostles.— Matthew  is  supposed  to  have  suffered  mar- 
tyrdom, or  was  put  to  death  by  the  sword  at  the  city  of  Ethiopia. 

Mark  was  dragged  through  the  streets  of  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  until  he 
expired. 

Luke  was  hanged  upon  an  olive  tree  in  Greece. 

John  was  put  in  a  cauldron  of  boiling  oil  at  Rome  and  escaped  death. 
He  afterward  died  a  natural  death  at  Ephesus,  in  Asia. 

James  the  Great  was  beheaded  at  Jerusalem. 

James  the  Less  was  thrown  from  a  pinnacle  or  wing  of  the  temple  and 
then  beaten  to  death  with  a  fuller's  club. 

Philip  was  hanged  up  against  a  pillar  at  Hierapolis,  a  city  of  Phrygia. 

Bartholomew  was  flayed  ah' ve  by  the  command  of  a  barbarous  king. 

Andrew  was  bound  to  a  cross,  whence  he  preached  to  the  people  till  he 
expired. 

Thomas  was  run  through  the  body  by  a  lance  near  Malipar,  in  the  East 
Indies. 

Jude  was  shot  to  death  with  arrows. 

Simeon  Zelotes  was  crucified  in  Persia. 

Matthias  was  first  stoned  and  then  beheaded. 

Peter  was  crucified  with  his  head  downwards. 

Paul,  the  last  and  chief  of  the  apostles,  also  died  by  violence. 

Statistics  of  the  Globe.— The  earth  is  inhabited  by  about  1,300  mil- 
lions of  inhabitants,  viz: 

Of  the  Caucasian  race 360,000,000 

Of  the  Mongolian 550,000,000 

Of  the  Ethiopian 190,000,000 

Of  the  Malay 200,000,000 

Of  the  American  Indian 1,000,000 

There  are  about  3,064  languages  spoken  in  the  world,  and  its  inhabi- 
tants profess  more  than  1,000  different  religions.  The  number  of  men  is 
about  equal  to  the  number  of  women.  The  average  of  human  life  is  about 
33  years.  One-quarter  die  previous  to  the  age  of  7  years,  one-half  before 
reaching  17,  and  those  who  pass  this  age  enjoy  a  felicity  refused  one  half  of 
the  human  species.  To  every  1,000  persons,  only  1  reaches  100  years  of 
life;  to  every  100,  only  6  reach  the  age  of  65;  and  not  more  than  1  in  500 
lives  to  80  years  of  age.  There  are  on  the  earth  1,000,000, 000  inhabitants;  of 
these  33,333,333  die  every  year,  91,824  every  day,  3,730  every  hour,  and  60 
every  minute,  or  1  every  second.  The  married  are  longer  lived  than  the 
single,  and  above  all,  those  who  observe  a  sober  and  industrious  conduct. 
Tall  men  live  longer  than  short  ones.  Women  have  more  chances  of  life 
in  their  favor  previous  to  their  being  50  years  of  age  than  men  have,  but 
fewer  afterward.  The  number  of  marriages  is  in  the  proportion  of  75  to 
every  1,000  individuals.  Marriages  are  more  frequent  after  the  equinoxes, 
that  is,  during  the  months  of  June  and  December.  Those  born  in  the  spring 
are  more  robust  than  others.  Births  and  deaths  are  more  frequent  by  night 
than  by  day.  The  number  of  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  is  calculated  at 
one-fourth  of  the  population. 


506        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Leading  Governments  of  the  World.  -  Of  the  leading  govern- 
ments of  the  world  fourteen  are  constitutional  monarchies  and  thirteen  are 
republics,  while  nine  are  despotisms.  They  may  be  enumerated  as  follows: 

1.  British  Empire,  constitutional. 

2.  Denmark,  constitutional. 

3.  Norway  and  Sweden,  constitutional. 

4.  Russia,  despotic. 

5.  Holland  and  Belgium,  constitutional. 

6.  Hanover,  constitutional. 

7.  German  Empire,  constitutional. 

8.  Switzerland,  republic. 

9.  Austrian  Empire,  constitutional. 

10.  France,  republic. 

11.  Spain,  constitutional. 

12.  Portugal,  constitutional. 

13.  Italy,  constitutional. 

14.  Greece,  constitutional. 

15.  Turkish  Empire,  despotic. 

16.  Persia,  despotic. 

17.  Afghanistan  and  Beloochistan,  constitutional. 

18.  Tartary,  despotic. 

19.  Hindostan,  constitutional. 

20.  Indo-China,  despotic. 

21.  Chinese  Empire,  despotic. 

22.  Egypt,  despotic. 

23.  Abyssinia,  despotic. 

24.  United  States,  republic. 

25.  Mexico,  republic. 

26.  Central  America,  republia. 

27.  Granada,  republic. 

28.  Brazil,  constitutional. 

29.  Peru,  republic. 

30.  Bolivia,  republic. 

31.  Chili,  republic. 

32.  Aracania,  despotic. 

33.  La  Plata,  republic. 

34.  Paraguay,  republic. 
85.  Uruguay,  republic. 
36.  Hayti,  republic. 

The  Sovereigns  of  Christendom.— There  are  at  the  present  me- 
ment  thirty-six  reigning  sovereigns  in  Christendom,  from  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land, to  whom  237,000,000  of  human  beings  own  their  allegiance,  to  the 
Prince  of  Monaco,  whom  5,742  subjects  acknowledge  as  their  leige  lord.  Of 
these  princes,  ten  are  nominally  Roman  Catholic,  namely,  the  Emperors  of 
Austria  and  Brazil,  the  Kings  of  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  Belgium,  Bavaria, 
Saxony,  the  Princes  of  Lichtenstein  and  Monaco.  Of  the  remaining  twenty- 
six,  two  belong  the  Greek  Church,  though  the  Czar  and  the  King  of  the  Hel- 
lenes belong  to  different  branches  of  it.  The  other  twenty-four  are  Protes- 
tants, sixteen  being  called  Lutherans,  four  (including  the  German  Emperor) 
belonging  to  the  "Evangelical"  confession,  three  to  the  "reformed" 
Church,  and  one  being  the  "  supreme  head  on  the  earth  "  of  the  Church  of 
England,  but  the  vast  majority  ef  Queen  Victoria's  subjects  (130^000.00?) 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          507 

are  neither  Protestant  nor  Catholics,  but  Hindoos,  while  the  Mahommedans, 
40,000,000  in  number,  are  themselves  more  numerous  than  the  Protestants 
of  all  denominations  in  the  empire. 

Wealth,  of  the  Presidents — General  Grant,  previous  to  his  recent 
losses,  was  estimated  to  be  worth  $200,000.  Hayes  is  not  rich,  though  in  a 
well-to-do  condition.  Andrew  Johnson  and  Abraham  Lincoln  each  left 
$50,000.  James  Buchanan  died  worth  $200,000.  Franklin  Pierce  entered  the 
White  House  poor,  but  went  back  to  Concord  worth  $60,000.  Millard  Fill- 
more  made  a  snug  fortune  out  of  the  law,  and  was  comparatively  rich  when 
he  became  President.  General  Taylor  saved  his  army  salary,  and  was  in 
independent  circumstances  when  elected  to  the  presidency.  He  held  the 
office  hardly  a  year  and  a  half,  and  left  a  property  worth  $50,000.  Tyler 
was  a  bankrupt  when  the  death  of  Harrison  made  him  President,  and  he 
married  a  fortune  in  Miss  Gardiner.  He  went  out  of  office  a  rich  man,  but 
he  became  a  leader  in  the  Confederacy  and  his  property  was  sunk  in  the 
general  ruin  occasioned  by  the  war.  James  K.  Polk  had  good  opportunity 
to  make  money  befor.  '".  election,  and  he  was  an  economist  by  nature. 
He  left  $150,000.  Martin  Van  Buren  was  the  richest  of  all  our  Presidents, 
his  estate  being  estimated  at  $800,000.  He  made  money  as  a  lawyer  and 
also  as  a  politician,  and  his  real  estate  purchases  became  immensely  profita- 
ble, but  his  money  has  been  almost  entirely  wasted  by  his  heirs.  Andrew 
Jackson  was  not  a  money-making  man.  He  lived  nine  years  after  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  of  office,  and  left  only  a  large  landed  estate  commonly 
known  as  the  Hermitage.  John  Quincy  Adams  was  a  methodical  business 
man  and  an  economist.  He  left  about  $60,000,  which  at  that  time  was  a 
large  sum.  James  Monroe  was  so  poor  in  his  old  age  that  he  became  the 
guest  of  his  son-in-law,  Samuel  L.  Gouverneur,  of  New  York,  where  he 
died.  Madison  was  more  successful  in  taking  care  of  his  money,  and  left 
his  widow  a  nroperty  which  enabled  her  to  live  handsomely  in  Washington 
till  the  end  of  her  days.  Jefferson  passed  his  last  days  in  much  distress,  and 
was  really  afraid  that  his  place  would  be  sold  by  the  sheriff.  He  was 
an  object  of  public  charity,  and  subscription  was  opened  in  his  behalf  in 
New  York,  but  his  death  occurred  so  soon  that  the  benevolent  effort  was 
not  required.  Old  John  Adams  left  an  estate  worth  $30,000.  Washington 
was  a  rich  man  for  his  day,  his  wealth  being  solely  due  to  marriage. 
Mount  Vernon  was  not  a  productive  property,  but  Mrs.  Custis  brought  him 
a  large  fortune  which  she  inherited  from  her  first  husband.  Viewing  our 
Presidents  in  a  mere  pecuniary  estimate,  there  are  a  hundred  men  in  New 
York  each  of  whom  could  buy  out  the  whole  of  them.  When  one  contem- 
plates their  true  worth,  however,  one  sees  how  utterly  poor  mere  wealth 
becomes  in  comparison. 

American  Wonders. — The  greatest  wonder  in  the  world  is  the  Falls 
of  Niagara,  where  the  water  from  the  great  upper  lakes  forms  a  river  of 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  then,  being  suddenly  contracted, 
plunges  over  the  rocks,  in  two  columns,  to  the  depth  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  each. 

The  greatest  cave  in  the  world  is  the  Mammoth  Cave,  in  Kentucky, 
where  any  one  can  make  a  voyage  on  the  waters  of  a  subterranean  river, 
and  catch  fish  without  eye«. 

The  largest  lake  in  the  world  is  Lake  Superior,  which  is  truly  an  inland 
eea,  being  four  hundred  and  thirty  miles  long,  and  one  thousand  feet  deep. 


508       CfCtOP^DiA    Of    USEFUL 

The  greatest  natural  bridge  in  the  world  is  the  Natural  Bridge  over 
Cedar  Creek,  in  Virginia.  It  extends  across  a  chasm  eighty  feet  in  width 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  depth,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  creek 
flows. 

The  greatest  mass  of  solid  iron  in  the  world  is  the  Iron  Mountain  of 
Missouri.  It  is  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  two  miles  in  circuit. 

The  greatest  suspension  bridge  in  the  world  is  the  East  River  Bridge, 
connecting  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  Its  length  is  more  than 
one  mile. 

The  greatest  monument  in  the  world  is  the  Washington  Monument,  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  Its  height  is  555  feet. 

The  greatest  statue  in  the  world  is  the  Bartholdi  Statue,  on  Bedloe's  Is- 
land, New  York  Bay,  presented  to  America  by  the  people  of  France.  Its 
height  is  305  feet. 

The  largest  number  of  whale  ships  in  the  world  is  sent  out  by  Nantucket 
and  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

The  greatest  grain  port  in  the  world  is  Chicago. 

The  largest  aqueduct  in  the  world  is  the  Crof ,.  Aqueduct,  in  New  York. 
Its  length  is  forty  and  a  half  miles,  and  it  cost  twelve  and  a  half  millions  of 
dollars. 

The  largest  deposits  of  anthracite  coal  in  the  world  are  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  mines  of  which  siipply  the  market  with  millions  of  tons  annually,  and 
appear  to  be  inexhaustible. 

Insignificant  Origin  of  Great  Works.— It  is  not  the  tools  that 
make  the  workman,  but  the  trained  skill  and  perseverance  of  the  man  him- 
self. Some  one  asked  Opic  by  what  wonderful  process  he  mixed  his  colors. 
"  I  mix  them  with  my  brains,  sir,"  was  the  reply.  It  is  the  same  with  every 
workman  who  could  excel. 

Ferguson  made  marvelous  things — such  as  his  wooden  clock,  that  actu- 
ally measured  the  hours,  by  means  of  a  common  penknife,  a  tool  in  every- 
body's hand,  but  then  everybody  is  not  a  Ferguson. 

A  pan  of  water  and  two  thermometers  were  the  tools  by  which  Dr.  Black 
discovered  latent  heat;  and  a  prism,  a  lens,  and  a  sheet  of  pasteboard  en- 
abled Newton  to  unfold  the  composition  of  light  and  the  origin  of  color. 

An  eminent  foreign  savant  once  called  upon  Dr.  Wollaston,  and  requested 
to  be  shown  over  his  laboratory,  in  which  science  had  been  enriched  with 
so  many  important  discoveries,  when  the  doctor  took  him  into  a  little  study, 
and  pointed  to  an  old  tea  tray  on  the  table,  containing  a  few  watch  glasses, 
test  papers,  a  small  balance,  and  a  blow  pipe,  and  said:  "  There  is  all  th« 
laboratory  I  have." 

Stockhardt  learned  the  art  of  combining  colors  by  closely  studying  butter- 
flies' wings;  he  would  often  say  no  one  knew  how  much  he  owed  to  thes« 
tiny  insects. 

A  burnt  stick  and  a  barn  door  served  Wilkie  in  lieu  of  pencil  and  canvas. 

Bewick  first  practiced  drawing  on  the  cottage  walls  of  his  native  village, 
which  he  covered  with  his  sketches  in  chalk;  and  Benjamin  West  made  his 
first  brushes  out  of  the  cat's  tail. 

Ferguson  laid  himself  down  in  the  fields  at  night  in  a  blanket,  and  made 
a  map  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  by  means  of  a  thread  with  small  beads  on  it, 
stretched  between  his  eyes  and  the  stars. 

Franklin  first  robbed  the  thunder  cloud  of  its  lightning  by  means  of  a 
kite  with  two  cross  sticks  and  a  silk  handkerchief. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  509 

Watt  made  his  first  model  of  the  condensing  steain  engine  out  of  an  old 
anatomist's  syringe,  used  to  inject  the  arteries  previoua  to  dissection. 

Gifford  worked  his  first  problem  in  mathematics,  when  a  cobbler's 
apprentice,  upon  small  scraps  of  leather  which  ho  beat  smooth  for 
the  purpose,  while  liittenhouse,  the  astronomer,  first  calculated  eclipses 
on  his  plow  handle. 

How  Money  Accumulates.— The  following  shows  how  easy  it  is  to 
accumulate  a  fortune,  provided  proper  steps  are  taken.  The  table  shows 
what  would  be  the  result  at  the  end  of  fifty  years  by  saving  a  certain  amount 
each  day  and  putting  it  at  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent: 

Daily  Savings.  The  Result.  \    Daily  Savings.  The  Result. 

One  cent $     950  |  Sixty  cents $  57,024 

Seventy  cents 66,528 


Ten  cents 9,504 

Twenty  cents 19,006 

Thirty  cents 28,512 

Forty  cents 38,015 

Fifty  cents. 47,520 


Eighty  cents 76,032 

Ninety  cents 85,537 

One  dollar 95,041 

Five  dollars 475,208 


Nearly  every  person  wastes  enough  in  twenty  or  thirty  years,  which,  if 
saved  and  carefully  invested,  would  make  a  family  quite  independent;  but 
the  principle  of  email  savings  has  been  lost  sight  of  in  the  general  desire  to 
become  wealthy. 

How  to  Calculate  Interest. — The  following  rules  are  so  simple  and 
true  that  every  boy  and  girl  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  arithmetic  should  put 
them  by  for  reference.  There  being  no  such  thing  as  a  fraction  in  them, 
there  is  scarcely  liability  to  error  or  mistake: 

Six  per  cent,  — Multiply  any  given  number  of  days  of  interest  desired  by  the 
principal;  separate  the  right-hand  figure  and  divide  by  six;  the  result  is  the 
true  interest,  in  cents,  on  such  sum  for  such  number  of  days  at  six  per  cent. 

Eight  per  cent.  -  -Multiply  any  given  amount  for  the  number  of  days  upon 
which  it  is  desired  to  ascertain  the  interest,  and  divide  by  forty-five,  and 
the  result  will  be  the  interest  on  such  sum  for  the  time  required  at  eight 
per  cent. 

Ten  per  cent. — Multiply  the  same  as  above  and  divide  by  thirty-six,  and 
the  result  will  be  the  amount  of  interest  on  such  sum  for  the  time  required 
at  ten  per  cent. 

How  Man  is  Constructed.  —The  average  weight  of  an  adult  man  is 
140  pounds  6  ounces. 

The  average  weight  of  a  skeleton  is  about  fourteen  pounds. 

Number  ol  bones,  240. 

The  skeleton  measures  one  inch  less  than  the  living  man. 

The  average  weight  of  the  brain  of  a  man  is  three  and  a  half  pounds;  of 
&  woman,  two  pounds  eleven  ounces. 

The  brain  of  man  exceeds  twice  that  of  any  other  animal. 

The  average  height  of  an  Englishman  is  five  feet  nine  inches;  and  of  a 
Belgian,  five  feet  six  and  three-quarter  inches. 

The  average  weight  of  an  Englishman  is  150  pounds;  of  a  Frenchman, 
136  pounds;  a  Belgian,  140  pounds. 

The  average  number  of  teeth  is  thirty-two. 

A  man  breathes  about  twenty  times  a  minute,  or  1,200  times  an  hour. 

A  man  breathes  about  eighteen  pints  of  air  in  a  minute,  or  upwards  of 
seven  hogsheads  in  a  day. 


610      CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

A  man  gives  off  4-08  per  cent,  carbonic  gas  of  the  air  he  respires;  re- 
spires 10,666  cubic  feet  of  carbonic  acid  gas  in  twenty-four  hours,  equal  to 
125  cubic  inches  common  air. 

A  man  annually  contributes  to  vegetation  124  pounds  of  carbon. 

The  average  of  the  pulse  in  infancy  is  120  per  minute;  in  manhood,  80; 
at  60  years,  60.  The  pulse  of  females  is  more  frequent  than  that  of  males. 

Remarkable  Works  of  Human  Labor.— Nineveh  was  fourteen 
miles  long,  eight  miles  wide,  and  forty-six  miles  round,  with  a  wall  one 
hundred  feet  high  and  thick  enough  for  three  chariots  abreast.  Babylon 
was  fifty  miles  within  the  walls,  which  were  seventy-five  feet  thick  and  one 
hundred  feet  hjgh,  with  one  hundred  brazen  gates.  The  temple  of  Diana, 
at  Ephesus,  was  four  hundred  and  twenty  feet  to  the  support  of  the  roof.  It 
was  one  hundred  years  in  building.  The  largest  of  the  pyramids  was  four 
hundred  and  eighty-one  feet  in  height,  and  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three 
feet  on  the  sides.  The  base  covers  eleven  acres.  The  stones  are  about 
sixty  feet  in  length  and  the  layers  are  two  hundred  and  eight.  It  employed 
320,000  men  in  building  the  labyrinth  in  Egypt,  and  it  contains  three  hun- 
dred chambers  and  twelve  halls.  Thebes,  in  Egypt,  presents  ruins  twenty- 
seven  miles  round,  and  contained  350,000  citizens  and  400,000  slaves.  The 
Temple  of  Delphos  was  so  rich  in  donation  that  it  was  plundred  of  $50,000,- 
000,  and  the  Emperor  Nero  carried  away  from  it  two  hundred  statues.  The 
walls  of  Home  were  thirteen  miles  around. 

Atlantic  Cables. — Eleven  Atlantic  cables  in  all  have  been  successfully 
laid,  and  the  first  two  are  dead  or  lost.  Of  the  nine  cables,  only  four  are  in 
really  good  order,  the  other  five  being  old  and  having  little  chance  of  con- 
tinued life.  The  average  life  of  a  cable  is  only  ten  years.  One  of  the  nine 
was  laid  in  1869,  another  in  1873,  a  third  in  1874,  a  fourth  is  the  cable  of 
1866,  repaired  in  1880,  while  a  fifth  was  laid  in  1875.  The  more  recent  are 
the  French  (Pouyer  Quertier)  cable  of  1879,  the  two  new  Gould  and  the 
Bennett  and  Mackey  cables. 

The  oldest  company,  the  Anglo-American,  is  the  owner  of  the  four  oldest 
cables,  including  the  patched  one  of  1880.  Three  of  these  it  laid,  while  the 
cable  of  1869  was  laid  by  the  French  company,  and  came  to  the  Anglo- 
American  when  it  absorbed  that  company.  These  four  old  cables  are  rep- 
resented by  a  capital  of  $12,582,550,  preferred  6  per  cent,  shares,  a  like 
amount  of  deferred  shares,  and  $9,834,900  of  ordinary  shares — in  all,  $35,- 
000,000.  Their  total  length  is  12,319  milea,  and  the  capital  is,  therefore, 
$2,765  per  mile. 

Largest  of  Their  Kind. — I.  The  largest  ocean  in  the  world  is  the 
Pacific.  2-  The  largest  sea  is  the  Mediterranean.  3.  Eiver,  the  Amazon. 
4.  Gulf,  Mexico.  5.  Cape,  Horn.  6.  Lake,  Superior.  7.  Bay,  Bengal.  8. 
Island,  Australia.  9.  City,  London.  10.  Public  building,  St.  Peter's,  Rome. 
11.  Hotel,  Palace,  San  Francisco.  15.  Steamer,  Great  Eastern.  13.  Desert, 
Sahara.  14.  Theatre,  Grand  Opera  House,  Paris.  15.  State,  Texas.  16. 
Territory,  Dakota.  17.  Park,  the  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin.  18.  Highest 
mountain,  Kunchaiuyunga,  Himalayas.  19.  Sound,  Long  Island.  20. 
Largest  Railroad,  Union  Pacific  and  Central  Pacific.  21.  Canal,  Grand 
Canal,  China.  22.  Suspension  Bridge,  Brooklyn.  23.  Largest  railroad  de- 
pot, St.  Pancras,  London.  24.  Largest  room  in  the  world  under  single 
roof,  military  one,  St.  Petersburg.  15.  Strongest  fort,  Gibraltar.  26.  Long- 
est ship,  the  Romsdal.  27.  Sailing  ship  of  greatest  tonnage,  the  Three 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  611 

Brothers.    28.  Largest  Monument,  Washington.    29.  Largest  statue,  Bar- 
tholdi. 

Marvels  of  the  Microscope. — Leuwenhoeck  tells  us  of  animated 
insects  Been  with  the  microscope,  of  which  twenty-seven  millions  would 
only  bo  equal  to  a  mite.  Insects  of  various  kinds  are  observable  in  the 
cavities  of  a  common  grain  of  sand.  Mould  is  a  forest  of  beautiful  trees, 
with  the  branches,  leaves,  flowers  and  fruit  fully  discernible.  Butterflies 
are  fully  feathered.  Hairs  are  hollow  tubes.  The  surface  of  our  bodies  ia 
covered  with  scales  like  a  fish;  a  single  grain  of  sand  would  cover  150  of 
these  scales;  and  a  single  scale  covers  500  pores;  yet  through  these  narrow 
openings  the  sweat  exudes  like  water  through  a  sieve;  how  minute,  then, 
must  be  its  particles!  The  mite  makes  five  hundred  steps  in  a  second.  Each 
drop  of  stagnant  water  contains  a  world  of  animated  beings,  swimming  with 
as  much  liberty  as  whales  in  the  sea.  Each  leaf  has  a  colony  of  insects 
grazing  on  it  like  oxen  in  a  meadow. 

Measurements  of  the  Great  Lakes. — The  following  measure- 
ments of  the  great  lakes  have  been  taken  by  Government  surveyors:  The 
greatest  length  of  Lake  Superior  is  335  miles;  its  greatest  breadth  is  160 
miles;  mean  depth,  688  feet;  elevation,  827  feet;  area,  82,000  square  miles. 
The  greatest  length  of  Lake  Michigan  is  300  miles;  its  greatest  breadth, 
108;  mean  depth,  690  feet;  elevation,  506  feet;  area,  23,000  miles.  The 
greatest  length  of  Lake  Huron  is  300  miles;  its  greatest  breadth  is  60  miles; 
mean  depth,  600  feet;  elevation,  274  feet,  area,  20,000  square  miles.  The 
greatest  length  of  Lake  Erie  is  250  miles;  its  greatest  breadth  is  80  miles;  its 
mean  depth  is  84  feet;  elevation,  261  feet;  area,  6,000  square  miles.  The 
greatest  length  of  Lake  Ontario  is  180  miles;  its  greatest  breadth  is  65 
miles;  its  mean  depth  is  500  feet;  elevation,  261  feet;  area,  6,000  square 
miles.  The  total  of  all  five  is  1,265  miles,  covering  an  area  of  upward  of 
135,000  square  miles. 

Wedding  Anniversaries. — Many  are  interested  in  marriage  anni- 
versaries, and  so  we  give  their  definitions:  First  anniversary,  iron;  fifth 
anniversary,  wooden;  tenth  anniversary,  tin;  fifteenth  anniversary,  crystal; 
twentieth  anniversary,  china;  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  silver;  thirtieth  an- 
niversary, cotton;  thirty-fifth  anniversary,  linen;  fortieth  anniversary, 
woolen;  forty-fifth  anniversary,  silk;  fiftieth  anniversary,  golden;  seventy- 
fifth  anniversary,  diamond. 

Nature's  Barometers.— Certain  movements  on  the  part  of  the  ani- 
mal creation,  before  a  change  ol  weather,  appear  to  indicate  a  reasoning 
faculty.  Sueh  seems  to  be  the  case  with  the  common  garden  spider,  which, 
on  the  approach  of  rainy  or  windy  weather,  will  be  found  to  shorten  and 
strengthen  the  guys  of  his  web,  lengthening  the  same  when  the  storm  is 
over.  There  is  a  popular  superstition  that  it  is  unlucky  for  an  angler  to 
meet  a  single  magpie;  but  two  of  the  birds  together  are  a  good  omen.  The 
reason  ia  that  the  birds  foretell  the  coming  of  cold  or  stormy  weather;  and 
then,  instead  of  their  Beaching  for  food  for  their  young  in  pairs,  one  always 
remains  on  the  nest.  Sea  gulls  predict  storms  by  assembling  on  the  land, 
as  they  know  that  the  rain  will  bring  earthworms  and  larvae  to  the  surface. 
This,  however,  is  merely  a  search  for  food,  and  is  due  to  the  same  instinct 
which  teaches  the  swallow  to  fly  high  in  fine  weather,  and  skim  along  the 
ground  when  foul  is  coming.  They  simply  follow  the  flies  and  gnats  which 


512       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

remain  in  the  warm  strata  of  the  air.  The  different  tribes  of  wading  bird* 
always  migrate  before  rain,  likewiue  to  hunt  for  food.  Many  birds  foretell 
rain  by  warning  cries  and  uneasy  actions,  and  swine  will  carry  hay  and 
straw  to  hiding  places,  oxen  will  lick  themselves  the  wrong  way  of  the  hair, 
sheep  will  bleat  and  skip  about,  hogs  turned  out  in  the  woods  will  come 
grunting  and  squealing,  colts  will  rub  their  backs  against  the  ground, 
crows  will  gather  in  crowds,  crickets  will  sing  more  loudly,  flies  come  into 
the  house,  frogs  croak  and  change  color  to  a  dingier  hue,  dogs  eat  grass, 
and  rooks  soar  like  hawks.  It  is  probable  that  many  of  these  actions  are 
due  to  actual  uneasiness,  similar  to  that  which  all  who  are  troubled  with 
corns  or  rheumatism  experience  before  a  storm,  and  are  caused  both  by  the 
variation  in  barometic  pressure  and  the  changes  in  the  electrical  condition 
of  the  atmosphere. 

Facts  Regarding1  the  City  of  London..— London  (with  all  its 
suburbs)  covers  within  the  fifteen  miles  radius  of  Charing  Cross  nearly  700 
square  miles.  It  numbers  within  these  boundaries  over  4,000,000  inhabi- 
tants. It  contains  more  country-born  inhabitants  than  the  counties  of 
Devon  and  Gloucester  combined,  or  thirty-seven  per  cent,  of  its  entire 
population.  Every  four  minutes  a  birth  takes  place  in  the  metropolis,  and 
every  six  minutes  a  death.  Within  the  circle  named  there  are  added  to  the 
population  205  persons  every  day,  and  75,000  annually.  London  has  7,000 
miles  of  streets,  and  on  an  average  twenty-eight  miles  of  new  streets  are 
opened  and  9,000  new  houses  built  every  year;  1,000  vessels  and  9,000 
sailors  are  in  port  every  day.  Its  crime  is  also  in  proportion  to  its  extent. 
Seventy-three  thousand  persons  are  annually  taken  into  custody  by  the  po- 
lice, and  more  than  one-third  of  all  the  crime  in  the  country  is  committed 
within  its  borders.  Thirty-eight  thousand  persons  are  annually  committed 
for  drunkenness  by  its  magistrates.  The  metropolis  comprises  consider- 
ably upward  of  100,000  foreigners  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  It  con- 
tains more  Koman  Catholics  than  Home  itself,  more  Jews  than  the  whole  of 
Palestine,  more  Irish  than  Belfast,  more  Scotchmen  than  Aberdeen,  and 
more  Welshmen  than  Cardiff.  Its  beershops  and  gin-palaces  are  so  num- 
erous that  their  frontages,  if  placed  side  by  side,  would  stretch  a  distance 
of  sixty-two  miles.  If  all  the  dwellings  in  London  could  thus  have  their 
frontages  placed  side  by  side  they  would  extend  beyond  the  city  of  York,  a 
distance  of  172  miles.  London  has  sufficient  paupers  to  occupy  every  house 
in  Brighton.  The  society  which  advocates  the  cessation  of  Sunday  labor 
will  be  astonished  to  learn  that  sixty  miles  of  shops  are  open  every  Sunday. 
With  regard  to  churches  and  chapels,  the  Bishop  of  London,  examined  be- 
fore a  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  year  1840,  said:  "  If  you  pro- 
ceed a  mile  or  two  eastwards  of  St.  Paul's,  you  will  find  yourself  in  the 
midst  of  a  population  the  most  wretched  and  destitute  of  mankind,  consist- 
ing of  artificers,  laborers,  beggars,  and  thieves,  to  the  amount  of  300,000  or 
400,000  souls.  Throughout  this  entire  quarter  there  is  not  more  than  one 
church  for  every  10,000  inhabitants,  and  in  two  districts,  there  is  but  one 
church  for  45,000  souls." 

About  (reins. — The  finest  emeralds  come  from  Peru,  and  other  parts 
of  South  America,  though  they  are  sometimes  brought  from  the  East.  They 
are  of  a  beautiful  clear  green  color,  some  very  dark,  others  paler,  and  are 
much  valued  and  used  for  ornamental  jewelry.  The  Queen  of  Spain's 
•meralds  were  among  the  most  beautiful  jewels  shown  at  the  Great  Lou- 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          513 

don  Exhibition.  Kubies  are  very  striking  gems,  being,  when  of  the  finest 
sort,  of  a  beautiful  dark-red  color,  and  very  clear;  they  are  not,  however, 
often  of  largo  size,  and  are  not  so  hard  as  many  other  gems — the  emerald 
for  instance.  There  is  an  inferior  kind,  of  a  pale-rose  color,  which  are 
brought  from  Balachan,  in  Turkey. 

The  sapphire  is  generally  called  a  blue  gem,  and  that  is  the  color  in- 
tended when  people  talk  of  a  "  sapphire  hue,"  but  it  varies  so  much  in 
color  that  there  are  sapphires  which  resemble,  and  as  it  were,  counterfeit 
other  gems;  these  are  called  oriental  emeralds,  topazes,  or  whatever  other 
Btoue  they  resemble.  The  red  sapphire,  or  oriental  ruby,  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  gems,  coming  next  after  the  diamond.  Some  sapphires  pre- 
sent when  polished  a  beautiful  effect,  from  a  six-rayed  star  of  light  gleam- 
ing in  their  center.  This  is  the  effect  of  the  six-sided  form  of  the  crystal. 

A  carbuncle  is  a  gem  of  a  beautiful  deep-red  color,  with  a  mixture  of 
scarlet,  found  in  the  East  Indies.  It  is  usually  found  pure,  of  an  angular 
figure;  its  usual  size  is  nearly  a  quarter  ol  an  inch  in  length,  ano  two-thirda 
of  that  in  diameter.  When  held  up  to  the  sun  it  loses  its  deep  tinge,  and 
becomes  exactly  of  the  color  of  a  burning  coal. 

The  opal  is  only  partially  clear,  and  its  great  beauty  consists  in  the  play 
of  colors  from  its  interior;  yellow,  red,  and  green,  the  most  exquisite  tints, 
flash  and  gleam  from  it  as  it  is  moved  about.  The  finest  opals  are  as  valuable 
as  diamonds;  they  are  brought  from  Turkey,  and  sometimes  from  Hungary, 
but  it  is  seldom  that  any  are  found  of  large  size. 

The  amethyst  is  a  clear,  hard  stone  of  a  beautiful  violet  color  by  day- 
light, but  looking  brown  by  candlelight;  it  is  nearly  related  to  the  quartz 
rock-crystal,  which  is  used  for  making  spectacle  glasses,  and  sometimes  for 
false  diamonds.  "We  get  the  finest  amethysts  from  Ceylon,  the  Brazils,  and 
the  southern  part  of  Spain.  The  turquoise  is  an  opaque  stone  of  a  blue 
color;  it  is  very  soft  in  comparison  with  most  gems,  and  is  therefore  often 
used  for  engraving  upon;  it  is  very  easily  imitated,  and,  consequently,  a 
large  proportion  of  cheap  jewelry  pretends  to  be  adorned  with  turquoises. 

The  topaz  is  of  a  bright  golden  yellow;  the  garnet,  of  a  good  deep  red; 
the  latter  is  not  very  valuable,  though  very  pretty.  In  some  places  small 
garnets  are  crushed  to  use  instead  of  emery;  and  in  Germany,  where  gar- 
nets are  very  abundant,  they  are  sometimes  used  as  a  flux  for  iron  ore. 
The  topaz  is  found  in  several  parts  of  the  East  Indies,  in  Ethopia,  Arabia, 
Peru,  and  Bohemia;  the  oriental  are  the  most  esteemed.  They  can  easily 
be  imitated. 

The  Jewels  in  European  Crowns.— The  crown  of  England  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  finest  piece  ot  regalia  in  the  world.  The  lower  part  of  the 
baud  is  a  row  of  129  pearls,  the  upper  part  of  112;  between  them,  in  front, 
is  a  large  sapphire;  behind  is  a  smaller  sapphire,  with  six  others  and  eight 
emeralds.  Between  the  two  great  sapphires  are  ornaments  containing  286 
diamonds.  About  tke  band  are  eight  sapphires,  surmounted  by  eight  dia- 
monds and  eight  festoons,  containing  160  diamonds.  In  the  front  of  the 
crown  is  the  ruby  given  to  the  Black  Prince  by  Pedro,  King  of  Castile.  This 
is  set  in  a  Maltese  cross,  and  forming  the  cross  are  seventy-five  large  dia- 
monds. Three  other  crosses  are  round  the  upper  part  of  the  crown,  con- 
taining altogether  386  diamonds.  Between  the  four  crosses  are  four  orna- 
ments with  four  rubies  in  their  centers,  and  containing  respectively  eighty- 
four,  eighty-six,  eighty-five  and  eighty-seven  diamonds.  From  the  Maltese 
crosses  rise  four  arches  composed  of  oak  leaves  an<J  acorns,  the  leaves  coo- 


514       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

taining  728  diamonds.  The  thirty-two  acorns  are  each  of  a  single  pearl,  and 
»r«  set  in  cups  made  of  fifty-four  diamonds.  Above  the  arches  stands  the 
Mound,  containing  548  diamonds,  and  above  the  mound  is  the  cross,  con- 
taining a  very  large  sappnire,  four  very  large  and  108  smaller  diamonds. 
The  value  of  the  whole  is  variously  estimated,  but  is  commonly  believed  to 
be  about  $1,500,000. 

The  jewels  of  the  crown  of  the  King  of  Portugal  are  valued  at  35,000,000 
francs,  and  his  diamonds  weigh  over  5,000  carats,  their  value  being  esti- 
mated at  more  than  £2,000,000.  Among  them  is  a  diamond  reported  to 
weigh  1.680  carats,  which,  if  genuine,  is  the  largest  stone  of  the  kind  in  the 
world.  It  is,  however,  suspected  be  a  white  topaz,  and  the  King  will  not 
allow  a  critical  examination  to  be  made  of  it. 

At  the  coronation  of  the  present  Czar  and  Czarina,  two  crowns  were 
made  for  the  occasion,  together  with  a  necklace,  and  the  Empress's  crown 
is  thought  to  present  to  view  the  most  beautiful  collection  of  diamonds  ever 
gathered  in  a  single  ornament.  It  is  uncertain  whether  Russia  or  Persia 
possesses  the  finest  collection  of  crown  diamonds  in  the  world,  but  the 
honor  belongs  to  one  of  the  two. 

One  of  the  finest  collections  of  crown  jewels  in  the  world  ia  possessed  by 
the  most  hopelessly  broken  down  potentate,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey.  Every 
Sultan  from  the  earliest  times  has  made  a  point  of  collecting  jewels  and 
selling  none,  and  thus,  through  the  course  of  ages,  the  collection  has  be- 
come enormous.  The  jewel-rooms  of  the  Turkish  Sultan  resemble  nothing 
so  much  as  the  descriptions  in  the  "  Arabian  Nights." 

Depth,  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. — The  main  theatre  of  sounding  opera- 
tions has  been  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  which  from  its  relation  to  the  leading 
commercial  nations,  and  for  intercontinental  telegraph  purposes,  has  been 
more  carefully  surveyed  than  any  other  great  body  of  water.  Open  from 
pole  to  pole,  participating  in  all  conditions  of  climate,  communicating  freely 
with  other  seas,  and  covering  30,000,000  square  miles,  it  is  believed  to  re- 
present general  oceanic  conditions,  and  to  contain  depths  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  as  great  as  the  other  ocean  basins  of  the  world,  although  but  little  is 
known,  it  is  true,  in  this  respect  of  the  Indian,  Antarctic,  and  Pacific  seas. 
The  general  result  of  its  soundings  would  indicate  that  the  average  depth 
of  the  Atlantic  bed  is  not  much  more  than  12,000  feet,  and  that  there  seem 
to  be  few  depressions  deeper  than  15,000  or  20,000  feet,  a  little  more  than 
the  height  of  Mont  Blanc.  Doctor  Thompson  sums  up  the  general  results 
of  the  Atlantic  soundings  as  follows:  "In  the  Arctic  sea  there  is  deep  water 
reaching  to  9,000  feet  to  the  west  and  southwest  of  Spitzbergen.  Extending 
from  the  coast  of  Norway,  and  including  Iceland,  the  Faroe  Islands,  Shet- 
land and  Orkney,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  bed  of  the  North  sea 
to  the  coast  of  France,  there  is  a  wide  plateau,  on  which  the  depth  rarely 
reaches  3,000  feet;  but  to  the  west  of  Iceland,  and  communicating,  doubt- 
less, with  the  deep  water  in  Spitzbergen  sea,  a  trough  500  miles  wide,  and 
in  some  places,  nearly  12,000  feet  deep,  curves  along  the  coast  of  Green- 
land. This  is  the  path  of  one  of  the  great  Arctic  currents.  After  sloping 
gradually  to  a  depth  of  3,000  leet  to  the  westward  of  the  coast  of  Ireland,  in 
latitude  50  degrees,  the  bottom  suddenly  dips  to  10,000  feet  at  the  rate  oi 
about  fifteen  to  nineteen  feet  in  100;  and  from  this  point  to  within  about  200 
miles  of  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  when  it  begins  to  shoal  again,  there  is 
a  vast  undulating  submarine  plain,  averaging  12,000  feet  in  depth  below  tha 
•nrface— the  '  telegraph  plateau.'  A  valley  about  500  miles,  and  with  a 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          515 

mean  depth  of  15,000  feet,  stretches  from  off  the  southwest  coast  of  Ireland, 
along  the  coast  of  Europe,  dipping  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  past  the  Strait  of 
Gibraltar,  and  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  Opposite  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands  it  seems  to  merge  into  a  slightly  deeper  trough,  which  occupies  the 
axis  of  tho  South  Atlantic,  and  passes  into  the  Antarctic  sea.  A  nearly 
similar  valley  curves  around  the  coast  of  North  America,  about  12,000  feet 
in  depth,  off  Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  and  becoming  considerably 
deeper  to  the  southward,  where  it  follows  the  outline  of  the  coast  of  the 
States  and  the  Bahamas  and  Windward  Islands,  and  finally  joins  the  cen- 
tral trough  of  the  South  Atlantic  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  with  a  depth  of 
15,000  feet. 

Consumption  of  Timber. — To  make  shoe  pegs  enough  for  American 
use  consumes  annually  100,000  cords  of  timber,  and  to  make  lucifer  matches, 
300,000  cubic  feet  of  the  best  pine  are  required  every  year.  Lasts  and  boot- 
trees  take  500,000  cords  of  birch,  beech,  and  maple,  and  the  handles  of  tools 
500,000  more.  The  baking  of  bricks  consumes  2,000,000  cords  of  wood,  or 
what  would  cover  with  forest  about  50,000  acres  of  land.  Telegraph  poles 
already  up  represent  800,000  trees,  and  their  annual  repairs  consume  300,- 
000  more.  The  ties  of  railroads  consume  annually  thirty  years'  growth  of 
75,000  acres,  and  to  fence  all  the  railroads  in  the  United  States  would  cosfc 
$45,000,000  with  a  yearly  expenditure  of  $15,000,000  for  repairs.  These  aro 
some  of  the  ways  which  American  forests  are  going.  There  are  others; 
packing-boxes,  for  instance,  cost  in  1874  $12,000,000,  while  the  timber  used 
each  year  in  making  wagons  and  agricultural  implements  is  valued  at  more 
than  $100,000,000. 

Interesting  Pacts.— The  Atlantic  Ocean  includes  an  area  of  30,000,- 
000  square  miles,  Suppose  an  inch  of  rain  to  fall  upon  only  one-fifth  of 
this  vast  expanse,  it  would  weigh  360,000,000  tons,  and  the  salt  which,  aa 
water,  is  held  in  solution  in  the  sea,  and  which,  when  the  water  was  taken 
up  as  a  vapor,  was  left  behind  to  disturb  the  equilibrium,  weighed  16,000,- 
000  more  tons,  or  nearly  twice  as  much  as  all  the  ships  in  the  world  could 
carry  at  a  cargo  each.  It  mighff  fall  in  a  day;  but  occupy  what  time  it 
might  in  falling,  this  rain  is  calculated  to  exert  so  much  force — which  is  in- 
conceivably great — in  disturbing  the  equilibrium  of  the  ocean.  If  all  the 
water  discharged  by  the  Mississippi  River  during  the  year  were  taken  up 
in  mighty  measure,  and  cast  into  the  ocean  at  an  effort,  it  would  not  make 
a  greater  disturbance  in  the  equilibrium  of  the  sea  than  the  fall  of  rain 
supposed.  And  yet  so  gentle  are  the  operations  of  nature  that  movements 
so  vast  are  unperceived. 

How  Caves  Are  Formed.— It  becomes  an  interesting  question  to 
find  out  how  this  subterranean  system  was  made;  for  in  so  many  cases 
valley  passes  into  ravine,  and  that  into  a  cave,  that  the  cause  which  has 
formed  one  must  have  formed  all.  It  requires  but  a  cursory  glance  to  see 
at  once  that  running  water  was  the  main  agent.  The  limestone  is  so  trav- 
ersed by  joints  and  lines  of  shrinkage,  that  the  water  sinks  rapidly  down 
into  its  mass,  and  collects  in  small  streams,  which  owe  their  direction  to 
the  dip  of  the  water  and  the  position  of  the  fissures.  These  channels  are 
being  continually  deepened  and  widened  by  the  mere  mechanical  action  of 
the  passage  of  stones  and  silt.  But  this  is  not  the  only  way  in  which  the 
rock  is  gradually  eroded.  The  limestone  is  composed  in  great  part  of  pure 
carbonate  of  lime,  which  is  insoluble  in  water.  It  is.  bowevei\  readily  dk- 


516        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

•olved  in  any  liquid  containing  carbonic  acid,  which  is  an  essential  part  of 
our  atmosphere,  and  is  invariably  present  in  the  rain-water,  and  is  given 
off  by  organic  bodies..  By  this  invisible  agent,  the  hard  crystalline  rock  is 
always  being  attacked  in  some  form  or  other.  The  very  snails  that  take 
refuge  in  its  crannies  leave  an  enduring  mark  of  their  presence  in  a  surface 
fretted  with  their  acid  exhalations,  which  very  often  pass  current  among 
geologists  for  the  borings  of  pholades,  and  are  the  innocent  cause  of 
much  speculation  as  to  the  depression  of  the  mountain-tops  beneath  the 
sea  in  comparatively  modern  times.  The  carbonic  acid  taken  up  by  the 
rain  is  derived  in  the  main  from  the  decomposing  vegetable  matter  which 
generally  forms  the  surface  soil  on  limestone.  Its  effects  are  to  be  seen  in 
a  most  marked  degree  in  the  bare,  gray  masses  of  rock  termed  "  pave- 
ments," that  stand  out  like  rocJies  moutonnees  from  the  purple  heather,  and 
are  worn  and  fissured  into  the  strangest  possible  shapes.  Sometimes  the 
surface  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  sharp  points  that  look  like  a  sheaf  of 
sword-blades;  at  others,  there  are  ravines  and  caves  in  miniature;  and  very 
generally  the  strata  are  divided  into  a  series  of  large  angular  blocks,  which 
work  with  the  greatest  freedom.  The  minute  fossil  shells  and  fragments  of 
crinoids  standing  out  in  bold  relief  testify  that  the  agent  which  removed  so 
much  rock  is  chemical,  not  mechanical.  The  invisible  agent  is  equally  at 
work  in  the  caves  as  well  as  above  ground,  everywhere  attacking  the  sur- 
face, even  out  of  the  reach  of  the  streams.  The  endless  varieties  of  stalac- 
tite and  stalagmite  are  merely  so  much  solid  matter  taken  by  it  out  of  the 
rock,  and  re-deposited  where  the  excess  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  water  hap- 
pens to  be  taken  up  by  a  free  current  of  air.  To  it,  then,  as  well  as  to  the 
mechanical  power  of  the  stream,  the  formation  and  enlargement  of  caves 
must  be  assigned. 

Floating  Islands. — Gippsland  is  a  province  of  Victoria.  It  is  bounded 
by  the  Australian  Alps  on  all  sides,  except  on  the  south,  which  the  sea 
washes  for  over  one  hundred  miles.  It  may  be  called  the  Piedmont  of 
Australia;  rich,  fertile  plains,  intersected  by  rivers  flowing  into  a  lake  sys- 
tem, extending  all  along  the  coasts,  and  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  narrow, 
sandy  ridge,  with  one  navigable  opening.  A  local  paper,  the  Gippsland 
Times,  gives  the  following  description  of  "  floating  islands  "  on  the  lakes: 

"  As  one  of  the  Gippsland  Steam  Navigation  Company's  steamers  was 
recently  crossing  Lake  Wellington,  the  man  at  the  wheel  suddenly  observed 
land  right  in  the  track  of  the  steamer,  apparently  only  a  short  distance  from 
the  straits  separating  Lakes  Wellington  and  Victoria.  He  called  the  cap- 
tain's attention  to  the  strange  sight,  and,  on  coming  close,  the  land  was  dis- 
covered to  be  a  small  island,  about  thirty  yards  in  length  by  twenty  broad. 
It  was  covered  by  a  rich  coating  of  luxuriant  grass;  and  small  trees,  tea- 
trees,  and  bush-shrubs,  appeared  to  be  growing  in  profusion.  The  only 
occupants  of  this  remarkable  apparition  were  a  few  pigs,  feeding  away  con- 
tentedly, and  apparently  enjoying  their  novel  journey  by  water.  A  second 
island  of  the  same  description,  but  much  smaller,  was  noticed  a  little 
farther  on,  but  this  had  evidently  detached  itself  from  the  larger  piece  of 
land,  or,  most  probably,  had  been  separated  by  the  rooting  depredations 
of  the  porkers. 

"  From   what  portion  of  the  mainland  this  floating  island  came  is,  of 

course,  a  matter  of  conjecture,  but  it  is  known  that  a  portion  of  the  soil  at 

Marley  Point,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Wellington,  became  detached 

I  recently,  and  floated  miles  across  the  lake,  with  some  twenty  or  thirty  head 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          817 

of  pigs  aboard.  As  long  as  the  wind  drove  in  that  direction,  the  island 
drifted  toward  M'Lennard's  Straits,  but  a  change  of  wind  brought  it  back 
again,  after  a  three  days'  trip,  within  a  mile  of  the  spot  from  which  it  had 
broken  away.  We  believe  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  district  surveyor  that  the 
area  of  the  Eoseneath  run,  West  of  Lake  Wellington,  has  been  increased 
some  twenty  or  thirty  acres  by  the  addition  of  drift  islands." 

Business  Vocabulary. — Acceptance. — A  draft  drawn  on  a  party  and 
by  him  indorsed  on  the  face  with  hib  agreement  to  pay  it  when  due. 

Account. — A  statement  of  indebtedness,  etc. 

Acquittance. — A  discharge  in  full. 

Ad  valorem. — In  proportion  to  value. 

Annul. — To  cancel. 

Assets. — Funds  or  effects. 

Assignment. — A  transfer  of  property  on  certain  conditions  for  stated 
purposes. 

Assignee. — A  person  to  whom  anything  is  assigned. 

Assignor. — The  person  who  assigns. 

Balance. — Difference  between  two  statements  or  accounts. 

Bankrupt. — A  person  unable  to  pay  his  debts. 

Bill  of  Exchange. — An  order  for  money  to  be  paid. 

Bill  of  Sale. — A  contract  signed  and  sealed  for  the  sale  of  personal  property. 

Bills  Payable. — Name  given  to  notes  made  and  to  be  paid  by  a  party. 

Bills  Receivable. — Notes  made  and  to  be  paid  to  a  party. 

Bond. — An  instrument  or  deed  providing  a  money  security. 

Capital. — The  amount  of  assets  on  which  a  business  is  carried  on. 

Check. — An  order  on  a  bank  for  the  payment  of  money. 

Capitation. — A  tax  on  every  male  who  is  of  age. 

Commission. — The  amount  or  proportion  charged  by  an  agent  in  a  business 
transaction. 

Company. — An  association  for  transacting  business. 

Consideration. — The  sum  of  money  or  thing  for  which  a  transaction  is  made. 

Consign. — To  send  goods,  etc.,  to  a  party. 

Consignee, — One  to  whom  goods  are  consigned. 

Consignor. — One  who  consigns  goods. 

Contract. — A  bargain  or  agreement. 

Conveyance. — A  document  transferring  property. 

Days  of  Grace. — Three  days  legally  allowed  beyond  the  date  for  payment. 

Debit. — To  make  debtor  in  an  account  or  books. 

Default. — Failure  to  pay. 

Discount. — A  sum  taken  from  a  bill  or  note. 

Dividend. — Interest  on  stock  investments,  etc. 

Draft. — An  order  for  the  payment  of  a  certain  sum. 

Drawer. — One  who  draws  a  draft,  etc. 

Drawee. — The  person  on  whom  the  draft  is  drawn. 

Effects. — Property  of  every  description. 

Entry. — A  record  made  in  books  of  account. 

EsiMcutor. — One  appointed  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  a  will. 

Exhibit. — A  writing  or  official  statement. 

Face. — The  sum  named  in  a  note,  etc. 

JaUure. — A  bankruptcy. 

Firm. — The  style  or  name  of  a  company  under  which  it  transacts  busi- 
ness. 


S18      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE, 

Foreclose. — To  deprive  a  mortgagor  by  legal  process  of  hia  right  of 
redemption. 

Goods. — A  term  applied  generally  to  merchandise,  etc. 

Gross. — Entire,  as  gross  receipts.    Twelve  dozen. 

Guarantee. — A  security. 

Honor. — To  accept  and  pay  a  note,  draft,  etc. 

Hypothecate. — To  make  a  security  of. 

Indorsement. — A  signature  on  the  back  of  a  bill,  note,  etc. 

Insolvent.— Unable  to  pay  all  debts. 

Interest. — A  certain  proportion  of  a  sum  as  profit;  a  share. 

Inventory. — A  catalogue,  or  list. 

Joint  Slock.— Stock  held  by  more  than  one  person,  or  in  company. 

Judgment. — Decree  of  court  to  pay  in  a  suit. 

Lease. — A  usually  written  contract  for  hiring  of  land  or  buildings. 

Legal  Tender. — Money  decreed  by  the  Government  to  be  legal  and  a  proper 
means  of  payment. 

Letter  of  Credit. — A  letter  giving  a  certain  credit  to  a  person  named  therein. 

Letters  Patent. — A  written  instrument  granting  certain  rights  and  powers. 

Letters  of  Administration. — The  instrument  granting  authority  to  adminis- 
trators. 

Lien. — A  valid  claim  by  reason  of  some  debt. 

Liquidation. — The  settling  and  adjustment  of  accounts. 

Maturity. — The  time  when  a  payment  is  due. 

Mortgage. — A  conditional  conveyance  of  property  giving  a  right  of 
redemption. 

Mortgagor. — One  giving  such  a  conveyance. 

Mortgagee.— One  to  whom  such  a  conveyance  is  given. 

Net. — The  amount  remaining  after  making  all  deductions. 

Partnership. — An  association  of  two  or  more  persons  for  the  transaction  ol 
business. 

Par  Value — The  face  value. 

Payee. — The  person  to  whom  a  payment  is  due. 

Protest. — A  notary's  official  notice  of  non-payment  of  a  note,  draft  or  check. 

Rebate. — A  reduction  in  consideration  of  prompt  payment. 

Receipt. — A  written  acknowledgment  ol  payment. 

Salvage. — Compensation  for  assistance  in  saving  a  vessel. 

Schedule.— A.n  inventory. 

Set-off.—  A  claim  off-setting  a  debt. 

Sight. — The  time  when  a  draft  is  presented. 

Suspend.— To  stop  payment. 

Silent  Partner. — One  who  furnishes  capital  but  whose  name  does  not  appear 
in  a  firm. 

Sterling.— the  British  standard  of  coinage. 

Scrip. — A  certificate  of  joint  stock. 

Staple. — A  standard  commodity  or  production. 

TeUer. — A  bank  official  who  pays  out  and  receives  money. 

Transfer. — A  conveyance  of  right,  property  or  title. 

Voucher.— A  document  proving  a  receipt  or  other  iact. 

Nautical  Vocabulary — Abaft. — Toward  the  stern. 
About. — To  take  the  opposite  tack. 

Anchoi: — The  heavy  piece  of  iron  which  holds  the  ship  at  rwt. 
Alee.— On  the  aide  away  from  the  wind. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          519 

Astern. — In  the  direction  of  the  stern. 

Athwart. — In  a  line  across  the  ship. 

Beating. — Sailing  against  the  wind  by  tacking. 

Bow. — The  front  of  a  vessel. 

Bend. — To  fasten;  as,  to  bend  on  a  rope. 

Berth. — A  ship's  anchorage,  or  a  narrow  shelf  for  sleeping  on. 

Block. — A  pulley. 

Bolt  Rope. — The  rope  surrounding  the  sail  to  which  it  is  sewed. 

Brace. — A  rope  attached  to  a  boom  or  yard  by  which  they  are  moved. 

Boom. — The  spar  at  the  bottom  of  a  sail  by  which  it  is  extended. 

Bulkhead. — A  partition  within  the  hull. 

Bulwarks. — The  sides  of  a  vessel  surrounding  and  extending  above  the 

deck. 

Cable. — A  strong  rope  or  chain. 
Caboose. — A  kitchen  on  deck. 

Camel. — An  arrangement  for  assisting  a  ship  over  shoals. 
Carry  Away. — To  break  or  lose  a  rope  or  spar. 
Cat  Block.— The  tackle  block  for  hoisting  the  anchor. 
Cat's  Paw. — A  light  puff  of  wind. 
Caulk. — To  make  tight  the  seams  of  a  vessel. 
Clew. — To  bind  up. 
dew  Lines. — Ropes  for  clewing. 
Combings. — The  raised  edges  around  the  hatches. 
Cock  Pit. — A  room  for  wounded  men  in  a  war  vessel. 
Companionway. — The  cabin  stairway. 
Compass. — An  instrument  showing  the  vessel's  course. 
Coxswain. — The  steerer  of  a  small  boat. 
DeadligM. — An  iron  shutter  covering  a  port  hole. 
Dead  Reckoning. — The  keeping  the  course  of  a  vessel  with  the  use  of  log 

line  and  compass. 

Deck. — The  covering  or  floor  to  a  ship. 
Draught. — The  depth  of  water  required  to  float  a  vessel. 
Fathom.— Six  feet. 
Fender. — A  piece  of  wood  or  other  material  to  prevent  the  contact  of  two 

vessels. 
Footrope. — A  rope  extending  along  and  under  a  yard  on  which  the  seaman 

stand. 

Fore  and  Aft. — From  bow  to  stern. 
Forecastle. — That  part  forward  of  the  foremast. 
Foremast. — The  mast  nearest  the  bow. 
Forge. — To  move  slowly  ahead. 
Founder. — To  sink. 
Furl.— To  roll  up. 

O-aff. — The  upper  spar  holding  up  a  fore  and  aft  sail. 
GaUey.— The  kitchen. 
Gangway. — An  entrance  to  a  ship. 
Grapnel. — A  small  anchor. 
Halyards. — Ropes  for  hoisting  sails. 
Hatch,  or  Hatchway. — An  opening  in  the  deck. 
Heave  to. — To  stop  by  bringing  a  ship's  bow  to  the  wind. 
Hold. — The  ulterior  of  a  vessel. 
I  full. — The  body  only  of  a  vessel. 

.— The  inaet  end  of  a  boom  or  gaff. 


RJO       CYCLOPEDIA    OX    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Jib. — A  triangular  sail  at  a  ship's  bow. 
Jibe. — To  shift  a  sail  from  one  aide  to  the  other. 
Jurymast. — A  temporary  mast. 
Keel— The  lowest  timber  in  a  ship. 
Knot. — A  nautical  mile. 
Launch. — To  let  a  ship  slide  into  the  water. 
Lead. — A  mass  of  lead  used  in  sounding. 
Lee. — Away  from  the  wind. 
Leeway. — The  lee  motion  or  space  of  water. 
Locker. — A  chest  or  box. 

Log  or  Logline. — A  rope  used  for  measuring  the  speed  of  a  vessel. 
Log  or  Logbook. — The  ship's  record  or  diary. 
Luff. — To  bring  a  ship  nearer  to  the  wind. 
Manrope. — A  rope  used  in  going  up  or  down  the  ship's  side. 
Mast.— An  upright  piece  of  timber  set  in  a  ship  for  supporting  sails,  rig- 
ging, etc. 

Masthead. — The  head  or  top  of  a  mast. 
Mess. — A  number  of  men  eating  together. 
Midships. — The  middle,  or  widest  part  of  a  ship. 
Mizzenmast;  Mizzensatt. — The  hindmost  when  there  are  three. 
Moor. — To  secure  a  ship  in  any  position. 
Nip. — A  short  turn,  as  in  a  rope. 
Painter. — A  rope  used  to  secure  a  boat  to  anything. 
Pay  Out. — To  slacken  or  give  out,  as  to  pay  out  a  rope. 
Peak. — The  upper  and  outer  corner  of  a  boom  sail. 
Pintle. — The  bolt  on  which  a  rudder  is  hung. 

Port. — The  left  hand  of  a  ship  looking  towards  the  bow;  same  as  larboard. 
Port  or  Port  Hole. — An  opening  in  a  ship's  side  to  admit  light  and  air. 
Quarter. — The  stern  portion  of  a  ship's  side. 
Make. — The  inclination  of  a  mast. 
Reef. — A  portion  of  the  sail  which  is  clewed  up  when  the  wind  is  too  high  to 

expose  the  whole. 
Beef. — To  take  up  such  a  portion. 
Reeve. — To  pass  the  end  of  a  rope  through  a  pulley,  etc. 
Rigging.  —A  term  applied  generally  to  a  vessel's  ropes,  etc. 
Road. — An  open  space  of  water  where  ships  may  anchor. 
Rowlock. — Arrangement  for  giving  purchase  to  an  oar  in  rowing. 
Rudder. — The  contrivance  which  steers  a  vessel. 
Scud. — To  sail  before  a  heavy  wind  or  gale. 
Sad.  —The  sheet  of  canvas  which  is  exposed  to  the  wind  and  gives  motion  to 

the  vessel. 

Seams. — Where  the  ship's  planks  join. 
Sheet. — A  rope  for  controlling  and  moving  a  sail. 
Shore. — A  prop  under  a  beam. 

Skipper. — The  name  given  generally  to  the  master  of  a  small  vessel. 
Sloop. — A  vessel  with  but  one  mast. 
Sound. — To  ascertain  the  depth  of  the  water. 
Spar. — A  name  applied  to  a  mast,  boom,  gaff,  yard,  etc. 
Stern. — The  rear  portion  of  a  vessel. 

/Starboard.— The  right  hand  of  a  ship  looking  toward  the  bow. 
Stay. — A  rope  supporting  or  keeping  in  place  a  mast. 
Tack. — T«  f*  against  the  wind  in  a  zig-zag  course,  and  to  change  a  ship's 

course  by  (shifting  her  rudder  and  saiie. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  521 

Taut.— Tight. 

Thwarts. — A  boat's  seats. 

Tiller. — A  bar  for  moving  a  rudder. 

Trick. — A  sailor's  duration  of  time  in  steering. 

Warp. — To  move  a  vessel  by  a  line  fastened  at  the  end  to  an  anchor. 

Watch. — A  certain  portion  of  time  for  duty. 

Wake. — The  track  left  in  the  water  by  a  moving  vessel. 

Weather. — Toward  the  wind. 

Weigh  Anchor.- -To  raise  the  anchor. 

Waist. — That  portion  of  the  deck  between  the  quarter-deck  and  forecastle. 

Windlass. — A  machine  for  raising  the  anchor  or  cargo. 

Windward. — The  point  from  whence  the  wind  blows. 

Yachi. — A  sailing  vessel  used  for  pleasure. 

Yard. — A  spar  supporting  and  extending  a  sail. 

Yardarm.— Either  half  of  a  yard. 

Yaw. — A  movement  causing  a  temporary  change  of  course. 

Dictionary  of  Musical  Terms. — Accompaniment. — A  secondary  part 
added  to  the  principal  for  the  improvement  of  the  general  effect. 
Adagio. — A  slow  movement. 
Ad  libitum. — Implies  that  the  time  of  the  movement  is  left  to  the  discretion 

of  the  performer. 

AUegretto. — With  cheerful  quickness. 
Andante. — Somewhat  sedate;  slowly. 

Animato,  Animaso,  or  Con  Anima. — Animated:  with  spirit. 
Assai. — Very;  used  as  an  adverb  with  another  word. 
A  temp. — In  regular  time. 

Seat. — An  indication  of  a  certain  duration  of  time. 
Ben. — Implying  well,  as  Ben  marcato. 
Calando. — A  gradual  diminution  in  speed  and  tone. 
Chromatic. — Proceeding  or  formed  by  semi-tones. 
Con. — With;  as  Con  expressione. 
Crescendo. — A  gradual  increase  in  tone. 
Da. — By.    Delicato. — With  delicacy. 
Dales  or  Dal. — In  a  soft,  quiet  manner. 
Doloroso. — In  a  melancholy,  sad  style. 
Espressico  or  Con  esepressione. — With  expression. 
Fine. — the  end.     Fork,  or  For. — Strong,  loud. 
Furioso. — With  great  animation.     Giusto. — In  perfect  time. 
Grave. — The  slowest  time  or  movement. 
Gusto,  Con  gusto. — With  style;  taste.     II. — The. 
Impetuoso. — Impetuously.     In.—  In;  as  In  tempo. 
Intrado,  or  Introduzione. — An  introduction  to  a  piece  of  musi*. 
Largo. — A  slow  and  solemn  degree  of  time. 
Legato. — In  a  smooth,  even  manner.     Leggiando. — Lightly. 
Marcato. — In  a  marked  manner.     Meme. — The  same. 
Mezzo. — In  a  medium  degree;  as  Mezzo  forte. 
Moderato. — Moderately.     Malto. — Very;  as  Malto  forte. 
Movimento. — Movement;  time.    No-bile. — Grandly;  impressively. 
Obligate. — An  essential  portion  of  a,  composition. 
Ottava  or  8oa.    An  octave. 

Peddle,  or  Fed. — Signifies  that  performer  must  press  down  pedal. 
Pen.— A.  little.    Piano,  or  P.    Soft 


522       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Pianissimo,  or  PP. — Very  soft.    Plus. — More. 

Poco  a  poco. — Gradually;  by  a  regular  gradation. 

Pomposo.— Pompously.    Precipttato.—Very  quickly;  hurriedly. 

Premiere. — First;  as  Premiere  fois;  first  time. 

Presto.— Very  quick.    Primo.— As  Yiolino  primo,  first  violin. 

Quasi.— In  the  manner  of;  like.     Quieto.— With  repose,  quietly. 

ftapido. — Kapidly.— Rinforzando.— Einf.  or  Bf.  with  increase. 

Rtienenie,  Riienato. — Decreasing  in  speed. 

Begno.— Sign,  as  al  segno,  go  back  to  sign. 

Sempre.— Always,  as  Sempre  piane.    Serioso.— Seriously. 

jS'oZo,  Kola— Alone.    A  composition  rendered  by  one  person. 

Sosttnvlo  or  Sost. — Prolonged,  sustained. 

Spirito — With  spirit. 

Staccato.— Each  note  to  be  distinctly  marked. 

Stesso. — The  same. 

Syncopation.—  Connecting  the  last  note  of  a  bar  with  the  rirst  note  of  the 

following,  thus  forming  one  prolonged  note  with  &  duration  equal  to 

the  two. 

Syncopate.— In  a  syncopated  style.     TarUo  or  Ton.— Not  so  much. 
Tardo. — Slowly.     Tempo  Comodo. — Conveniently. 
Iheme. — A  subject.     Tranquitto. — Tranquilly. 
Tremendi. — With  terrific  expression. 
Tremando,  Tremolo. — The  rapid  striking  of  a  note  so  as  to  produce  a 

tremulous  effect. 
2HBe  or  TriRo.—h.  trill  or  shake. 
Trio. — A  composition  for  three  performers. 
Triplet. — A  group  of  three  notes  equal  in  duration  of  time  to  two  notes  of 

the  same  value. 
Un  A. — As  un  poco,  a  little. 
Veloce. — Rapidly. 
Velocissimo. — With  great  rapidity. 
Vigoroso. — With  vigor. 
Vivace. — Vivamented;  briskly. 
Volti  Subtto. — Turn  over  quickly. 

Dreams.— Macknish  describes  dreams  to  be  "  the  resuscitation  or  re- 
embodiment  of  thoughts  which  have  formerly,  in  some  shape  or  other, 
occupied  the  mind.  They  are  old  ideas  revived,  either  in  an  entire  state, 
or  heterogeneously  mingled  together.  I  doubt  if  it  be  possible,"  he 
continues,  "  for  a  person  to  have  in  a  dream  any  idea  whose  elements  did 
not,  in  some  form,  strike  him  at  a  previous  period.  If  these  break  loose 
from  their  connecting  chains,  and  become  jumbled  together  incoherently, 
as  is  often  the  case,  they  give  rise  to  absurd  combinations;  but  the  elements 
still  subsist,  and  only  manifest  themselves  in  a  new  and  connected  shape." 

Tertullian  describes  dreaming  as  the  refreshment  of  the  soul.  He  re- 
jects the  doctrine  of  Epicurus  in  which  dreams  are  disparaged  as  idle  and 
fortuitous,  maintaining  that  they  are  agreeable  to  the  course  and  order  of 
nature.  Vain,  frivolous,  impure  and  turbulent  dreams  he  attributes  to 
demons,  while  those  that  are  pure  and  pleasant  proceed  from  God  or  his 
angels.  Lactantius  expresses  his  conviction  of  divine  agency  of  dreams. 
St.  Cyprian  states  that  he  was  divinely  instructed  in  a  dream  to  mix  a  littl* 
water  with  the  wine  for  the  Holy  Eucharist.  St.  Bernard  was  a  firm  bellevar 
in  dreams,  which  he  treats  of  at  great  length  in  his  remarkable  »ermon  "  On 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          518 

Sleep."  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  affirms  faith  in  dreams,  but  maintained  that 
only  those  which  are  suggested  by  angels  may  be  investigated  and  inter- 
preted, those  inspired  by  demons  and  evil  spirits  being  left  alone. 

A  recent  author  expresses  a  strong  and  fixed  faith  in  the  divine  inspira- 
tion of  dreams,  and  adduces  many  powerful  instances  from  sacred  and  pro- 
fane history  to  prove  that  the  will  of  Omnipotence  is  often  executed  through 
the  medium  of  visions.  The  wonderful  examples  related  by  Scriptural 
writers  are  liberally  drawn  upon.  The  case  of  King  Abimelech,  warned 
against  taking  Abraham's  wife  (whom  he  had  xmtruly  called  his  sister),  is 
cited  as  an  early  instance,  as  are  the  warnings  and  directions  given  by  God 
to  Jacob  and  Laban;  also,  the  dreams  and  visions  of  Daniel,  and  of  Joseph, 
both  with  regard  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  malice  of  Herod;  the  warn- 
ing dreams  of  the  three  Eastern  Kings,  and  that  of  Pilate's  wife,  all  of  which 
are  familiar  to  Bible  readers. 

Legal  Holidays  Throughout  the  United  States.— January  1st, 
or  New  Tear's  Day,  is  a  legal  holiday  in  all  the  States  except  Arkansas, 
Delaware,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire, 
Bhode  Island  and  North  and  South  Carolina. 

February  22d,  or  Washington's  Birthday,  is  a  legal  holiday  in  all  the 
States  but  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Maine,  Missouri,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Tennessee  and  Texas. 

May  3Qth,  or  Decoration  Day,  is  a  legal  holiday  only  in  Colorado,  Con- 
necticut, Maine,  Michigan,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Khode  Island  and  Vermont. 

January  8th,  the  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  New  Orleans;  February 
12th,  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln;  and  March  4th,  the 
Firemen's  Anniversary,  are  legal  holidays  in  Louisiana. 

July  4ih,  or  Independence  Day,  is  a  legal  holiday  in  all  the  States  and 
Territories. 

December  25th,  Christmas  Day,  is  a  legal  holiday  in  all  the  States  and 
Territories. 

Thanksgiving  Day  and  Public  Fast  Days,  appointed  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  are  legal  holidays.  Such  days  are  legal  holidays  in  such 
States  as  may  set  them  apart  for  religious  observance  by  proclamation  of 
the  Governor. 

Days  appointed  for  general  elections,  State  or  National,  are  legal  holi- 
days in  California,  Maine,  Missouri,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Oregon,  South 
Carolina  and  Wisconsin. 

Good  Friday  is  a  legal  holiday  in  Florida,  Louisiana,  Minnesota  and 
Pennsylvania. 

Shrove  Tuesday  is  a  legal  holiday  in  Louisiana  and  in  the  cities  of  Mobile, 
Montgomery  and  Selma,  Alabama. 

Memorial  Day  (April  26th,)  is  a  legal  holiday  in  Georgia. 

March  2d,  the  anniversary  of  the  independence  of  Texas,  and  Apr U  21st, 
ihe  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  are  legal  holidays  in  Texas. 

Freezing1    Points,    Etc.,    of   Various    Substances Mercury 

freezes  at  40°  below  zero,  and  melts  at  39°.  Ether  freezes  at  47°  below 
zero;  wine  freezes  at  20°;  sea  water  freezes  at  28.3°.  Alcohol  has  been 
exposed  to  110°  and  120°  below  zero  without  freezing.  Granite  decompose* 
at  a  red  heat.  The  second's  pendulum,  of  39.139  ins.,  is  lengthened  by  30°  ef 
temperature  128th  of  an  inch,  or  8  vibrations  in  24  hours. 


62*      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

The  heat  conducting  powers  of  metals,  etc.,  are  as  follows:  Goll,  1,000"; 
platinum,  981°;  silver,  973°;  copper,  898.2°;  iron,  374.3';  zinc,  363°;  tin, 
303.9°;  lead,  179.6°;  marble,  23.6°;  porcelain,  12.2°;  fine  clay,  11.4°. 

1  Ib.  of  coke  melts  94  Ibs.  of  ice;  1  Ib.  of  coal,  90  Ibs.;  1  ib.  of  wood,  52 
Ibs.;  1  Ib.  of  charcoal,  95  Ibs.;  1  Ib.  of  peat.  19  Ibs.  The  capacity  of  the 
solar  heat  all  over  the  globe  is  the  ability  to  melt  an  icy  covering  46  feet  in 
thickness. 

Animal  Wonders.— In  each  grain  of  sand  there  are  marvels;  in  every 
drop  of  water  a  world.  In  that  great  spectacle  called  Nature,  every  being 
has  its  marked  place  and  distinct  role;  and  in  that  great  drama  called  life, 
there  presides  a  law  as  harmonious  as  that  which  rules  the  movement  of 
the  stars.  Each  hour  removes  by  death  myriads  of  existences,  and  each 
hour  produces  legions  of  new  lives.  The  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest  or- 
ganism consumes  carbon  and  water  to  support  life  and  its  duties,  and  it  is 
not  uninteresting  to  glance  at  the  food,  the  habits,  and  the  ways  and  means, 
peculiar  to  some  of  the  inferior  animals.  From  the  petrified  ejections 
we  know  what  such  fossilized  reptiles  as  the  plesiosaurus,  etc.,  are,  and 
may  some  day  be  able  to  discover  the  fish  and  Crustacea  they  hunted 
down. 

Animals,  when  not  living  by  their  own  respectable  efforts,  are  either  para- 
sites or  dependents;  many  would  seem  to  have  positive  trades,  or  are  con- 
nected with  branches  of  industry.  There  are  miners,  masons,  carpenters, 
paper  manufacturers,  and  weavers,  lace-makers  even,  all  working  first  for 
themselves,  and  next  to  propagate  their  kind.  The  miners  dig  into  the 
earth,  form  natural  arches  and  supports,  remove  the  useless  soil;  such  as 
the  mole,  the  chinchilla  of  Peru,  the  badger,  the  lion  ant,  as  well  as  certain 
worms  and  mollusks.  The  masons  build  huts  and  places  according  to  all 
the  rules  of  architecture,  as  the  bees  and  tropical  ants;  there  are  fish  that 
construct  boats  that  the  waves  never  can  upset,  and  Agassiz  has  drawn  at- 
tention to  a  fish  which  builds  its  nest  on  the  floating  sea-weed  in  the  middle 
of  the  ocean,  and  deposits  therein  its  eggs.  The  wasps  of  South  America 
fabricate  a  sort  of  paper  or  pasteboard.  Spiders  are  weavers  as  well  as  lace- 
makers;  one  species  constructs  a  diving-bell,  a  palace  of  lace.  When  the 
astronomer  has  need  of  the  most  delicate  thread  for  his  telescope,  he  ap- 
plies to  a  tiny  spider.  When  the  naturalist  desires  to  test  his  micro- 
scope, he  selects  a  certain  shell  of  a  sea  insect,  so  small  that  several  mil- 
lions of  them  in  water  could  not  be  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  yet  no  mi- 
croscope has  yet  been  made  sufficiently  powerful  to  reveal  the  beautiful 
variegated  designs  on  the  atomic  shell.  Aristotle  remarked,  and  he  has 
since  been  corroborated,  that  a  variety  of  plover  enters  the  crocodile's 
mouth,  picks  the  remnants  of  food  off  the  animal's  tongue  and  from  between 
its  teeth.  This  living  toothpick  is  necessary,  as  the  tongue  of  the  crocodile 
is  not  mobile.  The  Mexican  owl,  when  ecjoying  a  siesta,  pat*  itself  under 
the  guard  of  a  kind  of  rat,  that  gives  the  alarm  on  the  approach  of  danger. 
Parasites  are  everywhere,  dependent  on  no  peculiar  condition  of  the  body, 
and  are  as  abundant  in  persons  of  the  most  robust  as  of  the  most  debilitated 
health.  They  are  at  home  in  the  muscles,  in  the  heart,  in  the  ventricles  oi 
the  brain,  in  the  ball  of  the  eye.  They  are  generally  either  in  the  form  of  a 
leaf  or  a  ribbon,  and  are  not  necessarily,  as  was  once  supposed,  confined  to 
a  special  animal.  The  parasites  of  fish  have  been  detected  living  in  the  in- 
testines oi  birds;  and  there  are  some  that,  for  the  purpose  of  development, 
must  pass  into  the  economy  of  a  second  animal. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          525 

Ancient  Clocks  and  Watches. — In  early  times  watches  were  often 
Aade  in  the  forms  of  skulls  and  coffins,  suggested,  doubtless,  by  the  sol- 
emnity of  the  flight  of  time. 

A  deaths-head  watch,  which  formerly  belonged  to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
and  was  bequeathed  by  her  to  her  maid  of  honor,  Mary  Setoro,  on  February 
7,  1587,  and  afterwards  came  into  possession  of  Sir  John  Dick  Lander,  is  of 
silver  pilt,  and  is  most  elaborately  ornamented.  The  forehead  of  the  skull 
bears  the  symbols  of  death,  the  scythe  and  hour-glass  placed  between  a 
palace  and  a  cottage  to  show  the  impartiality  of  the  grim  destroyer.  At  the 
back  of  the  skull  is  Time  destroying  all  things,  and  at  the  top  of  the  head 
are  scenes  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  the  crucifixion.  The  watch  is  opened 
by  reversing  the  skull,  placing  the  upper  part  of  it  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand 
and  lifting  the  jaw  by  the  hinge,  this  part  being  enriched  by  engraved  rep- 
resentations of  the  Holy  Trinity,  angels,  and  shepherds  •with  their  flocks. 
The  works  of  the  watch  form  the  brains  of  the  skull,  and  are  within  a  silver 
envelope  which  acts  as  a  musically -toned  bell,  while  the  dial-plate  is  in  the 
place  of  the  palate.  This  curious  work  of  art,  which  was  made  at  Blois,  is 
too  large  to  bo  carried  as  a  pocket  watch.  Another  skull  watch,  which  once 
belonged  to  Mary  Queeu  of  Scots,  by  its  inscription  and  the  date,  1560,  shows 
that  Francis  II,  of  France,  presented  it  to  his  young  wife  many  years  before 
watches  were  supposed  to  have  been  brought  to  England  from  Germany. 
Several  other  of  Queen  Mary's  watches  are  described.  One  in  a  case  of 
crystal,  shaped  like  a  coffin,  and  another  made  at  Rouen,  in  which  a  thread 
of  cat-gut  supplied  the  place  of  the  chain  used  in  the  work  of  modern 
watches.  Early  watches  were  sometimes  so  small  as  to  be  set  in  the  head 
of  walking  sticks,  the  clasp  of  bracelets,  in  rings,  or  in  pendants,  and  we 
read  of  a  striking  watch  mounted  in  a  ring,  in  the  year  1542.  At  the  Straw- 
berry Hill  sale  Queen  Victoria  purchased  a  little  clock  of  brass-gilt  which 
had  been  presented  to  Anne  Boleyn  by  Henry  VIII  upon  their  marriage  in 
1532,  for  £110  5s.  It  is  now  at  Windsor  Castle,  and  in  going  order.  It  is 
richly  chased  and  engraved. 

The  clock  placed  in  one  of  the  towers  at  the  palace  at  Hampton  Court, 
in  1551,  is  described  as  the  oldest  English  made  clock  extant.  When  in  ac- 
tion it  showed  the  motions  of  several  oi  the  planets.  The  dial  and  several 
of  the  wheels  attached  to  the  back  of  the  dial  still  remain. 

A  Marvelous  Stream.-  At  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  south  of  the 
river  Diamante  our  route  passed  through  a  natural  object  of  considerable 
interest — a  stream,  or  rather  rill,  of  yellowish  white  fluid,  like  petroleum, 
issuing  from  the  mountain  side  at  a  considerable  height,  and  trickling  down 
the  slope  till  lost  in  the  porous  soil  of  the  valley  below.  The  source  from 
which  it  flowed  was  at  the  junction  where  a  hard,  metamorphic  rock,  inter- 
spersed with  small  crystals  of  agnite,  overlay  a  stratum  of  volcanic  stuff. 
It  was  formed  like  the  crater  of  a  volcano,  and  full  of  black,  bituminous 
matter,  hot  and  sticky,  which  could  be  stirred  up  to  the  depth  of  eighteen 
inches.  Floundering  in  it  was  a  polecat  or  skiink  (Memphetis  vanans), 
having  been  enticed  to  its  fate  by  the  desire  of  securing  a  bird  caught  in 
the  natural  birdlime,  till  a  bullet  from  the  revolver  of  one  of  the  party  ter- 
minated the  skunk's  struggles  to  extricate  itself  from  the  warm  and  adhe- 
sive bath  in  which  it  was  hopelessly  held  captive.  The  overflow  from  this 
fountain  was,  as  described,  like  a  stream  of  petroleum  two  or  three  feet 
wide  trickling  over  a  bed  of  pitch  or  some  such  substance,  which  extended 
to  a  much  greater  width  along  the  edge  of  the  running  stream  at  its  ooutftct 


626        CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

with  it.  This  material  was  of  a  very  sticky  nature,  becoming  gradually 
harder  as  it  spread  farther  out,  assuming  the  appearance  of  asphalt  when  it 
became  mingled  with  the  loose  sand  of  the  adjoining  soil. 

While  engaged  in  examining  this  natural  curiosity,  we  came  upon  two 
small  birds  caught  in  the  sticky  substance  at  the  edge  of  the  stream.  They 
were  still  alive,  but  upon  releasing  them  both  the  feathers  and  the  skin 
came  off  where  they  had  come  in  contact  with  the  bituminous  matter,  so 
that  we  had  to  kill  them  to  put  an  end  to  their  sufferings.  No  doubt  they  had 
been  taken  in  by  the  appearance  of  water  which  the  stream  presented,  and 
had  alighted  to  drink.  Their  fate  suggested  the  idea  that  in  a  district  so 
devoid  of  water  others  of  the  feathered  tribes  must  constantly  become  vic- 
tims to  the  same  delusion  in  a  similar  manner,  and  upon  a  close  inspection 
of  the  margin  of  the  stream  the  correctness  of  this  inference  was  established 
by  the  discovery  of  numerous  skeletons  of  the  birds  embedded  in  it;  nor 
were  those  of  small  quadrupeds  unrepresented,  among  which  we  recog- 
nized the  remains  of  a  fox. 

Whale  Fishing. — The  immense  bulk  and  energies  of  the  whale  itself 
do  not  constitute  the  least  formidable  among  the  terrors  of  this  field  of  ad- 
venture. The  desolate  and  inclement  region,  which  is  the  scene  of  enter- 
prise, encompasses  the  pursuit  with  its  worst  hardships  and  dangers.  In 
this  realm  of  eternal  Winter,  man  finds  the  land,  the  sea  and  the  air,  equally 
inhospitable.  Everything  fights  against  him.  The  intensest  cold  benumbs 
his  flesh  and  joints;  while  fogs  or  driving  sleet  often  darken  the  sky,  and  at 
the  same  time  arm  the  frost  with  a  keener  tooth.  The  ocean  over  which  he 
moves,  besides  its  ordinary  perils,  is  crowded  with  new  and  strange  horrors. 

Sometimes  the  ice  lies  in  fixed  beds  that  bar  all  navigation  as  effectually 
as  would  a  wall  of  iron,  and  over  whose  rugged  and  broken  surface  he  can 
only  make  his  way  by  leaping  from  point  to  point,  at  the  risk  of  being  en- 
gulfed at  every  step.  Sometimes  it  bears  down  upon  him  in  vast  floating 
fields  with  such  an  impetus  that,  at  the  shock,  the  strong  timbers  of  his 
ship  crack  and  give  way  like  an  egg-shell,  or  are  cruehed  and  ground  to 
fragments  between  two  meeting  masses.  Sometimes  it  rises  before  him  in 
the  shape  of  a  lofty  mountain  which  the  least  change  in  the  relative  weights 
of  the  portion  above  and  that  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  may  bring  in 
sudden  ruin  upon  his  head,  burying  crew  and  vessel  beneath  the  tumbling 
chaos,  or  striking  them  far  into  the  abyss. 

As  for  what  may  be  dimly  distinguished  to  be  land,  rimming  with  its 
precipitous  coasts  these  dreary  waters,  it  may  be  most  fitly  described  in  the 
lines  in  which  the  poet  has  pictured  one  of  the  regions  of  the  nether  world: 

"  Beyond  this  flood  a  frozen  continent 
Lies  dark  and  wild,  beat  with  perpetual  storms 
Of  whirlwind  and  dire  hail,  which  on  firm  land 
Thaws  not,  but  gathers  heap,  and  ruin  seems 
Of  ancient  pile;  or  else  deep  snow  and  ice." 

At  the  farthest  limit  to  which  adventure  has  pierced,  a  night  of  four 
months'  duration  closes  each  dismal  year,  throughout  which  human  life  has 
indeed  been  sustained  by  individuals  previously  inured  to  a  severe  climate, 
but  the  horrors  of  which  have,  in  most  of  the  instances  in  which  the  dread- 
ful experiment  has  been  either  voluntarily  or  involuntarily  tried  by  the 
natives  of  more  temperate  regions,  only  driven  the  wretched  sufferer 
through  a  succession  of  the  intensest  bodily  and  mental  tortures  and  then 
laid  them  at  rest  in  the  sleep  of  death. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          527 

Tie  Worries  of  Authorship.— There  are  many  disappointments  in 
life,  and  among  the  saddest  is  that  of  the  aiithor  who  finds  no  market  foT 
the  products  of  his  brain.  This  misfortune  has  befallen  the  brightest  of  in- 
tellects. The  coinage  of  their  brains,  stamped  with  genius,  has  found  m 
currency  during  the  author's  generation. 

"  Paradise  Lost "  brought  John  Milton  only  a  paltry  five  pounds — abouS 
twenty-five  dollars  of  our  money. 

Wordsworth  once  told  Matthew  Arnold  that  for  many  years  "his  poetry 
had  never  brought  him  in  enough  to  buy  his  shoestrings." 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  which  has  a  world-wide  tame,  and  has  been 
translated  into  many  languages,  went  begging  from  publisher  to  publisher, 
before  one  recognized  its  great  merit. 

Hawthorne  for  twenty  years  continued  to  be,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  the 
obscurest  man  of  letters  in  America."  "  There  is  not  much  market  for  my 
wares,"  he  said  at  another  time.  But  he  ranks  to-day  among  the  American 
classics. 

Thoreau  was  another  example.  A  thousand  copies  of  his  "  A  week  on 
the  Concord  and  Merrimac  Rivers  "  were  struck  off  by  his  publisher.  After 
a  year  or  so,  the  author  received  word  that  his  work  would  not  sell,  and 
that  seven  hundred  and  six  copies  were  occupying  cellar-room  wanted  for 
other  use.  Accordingly,  they  were  transported  from  Boston  to  Concord. 
The  work  had  gone  forth  in  its  nakedness  and  now  returned  in  fine  clothing 
of  calico  and  leather,  back  to  the  old  homestead,  as  so  many  poor  unfortu- 
nates who  have  failed  in  the  struggle  of  life  have  done.  Thoreau  gave  them 
kindly  though  sorrowful  welcome.  He  laid  them  on  his  back  and  carried 
them  "  up  two  flights  of  stairs  to  a  place  similar  to  that  which  they  traced 
their  origin."  With  a  sort  of  grim  humor  he  said,  "  I  have  now  a  library  of 
nearly  nine  hundred  volumes,  over  seven  hundred  of  which  I  wrote  myself."' 

Pire  and  Matches.— Who  first  made  fire,  when  and  where,  a  little 
child  can  easily  ask,  but  a  wise  man  cannot  answer.  The  Persians,  Phoeni- 
cians, Greeks,  and  other  nations  assert  that  their  ancestors  were  without 
fire.  Pliny  says  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  greatly  delighted  with  fire, 
which  was  exhibited  by  Exedus,  the  celebrated  astronomer.  Until  recently 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Philippine,  Canary,  and  many  other  islands  had  never 
seen  a  fire.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Marian  Islands  at  first  believed  fire  an 
animal  that  fed  on  wood.  Fire  and  heat  are  both  obtained  by  friction. 
Probably  man  first  obtained  fire  by  rubbing  two  pieces  of  wood  together. 
Formerly  a  common  practice  among  the  people  of  the  Sandwich  Islands 
was  to  place  a  block  of  very  dry  wood  on  the  ground  and  rub  it  with  a  blunt 
stick  back  and  forth  till  a  groove  was  made  and  ultimately  fire.  Captain 
Cook  states  that  the  Australian  takes  a  dry  piece  of  soft  wood,  which  is  par- 
tially sharpened  at  one  end,  and  resting  the  point  upon  a  block,  revolves 
the  stick  rapidly  between  the  hands,  and  often  gets  fire  in  two  minutes. 
The  natives  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  "Land  of  Fire,"  made  fire  by  striking  flint 
with  iron  pyrites,  the  sparks  being  caught  on  tinder.  Our  forefathers  made 
use  of  similar  means.  Centuries  ago  glass  globes  filled  with  water  were 
used  to  concentrate  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  produce  fire.  Over  two  hun- 
dred years  ago  it  was  discovered  that  phosphorus,  by  friction,  would  ignite 
dry  sticks  dipped  in  sulphur.  In  1836,  Mr.  A.  D.  Phillips,  of  Springfield, 
Mass.,  patented  a  mixture  of  glue,  phosphorus,  chalk  and  sulphur,  with 
which  friction  matches  were  made,  and  soon  they  came  into  general  use. 
5ow  seventy-five  factories  give  work  to  twenty-five  hundred  employees, 


528       CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

one-third  of  whom  are  children.     Annually  30,240,000,000  matches  are 
made. 

Traveling  Stones.— Many  have  doubtless  heard  of  the  famous  travel- 
ing stones  of  Australia.  Similar  curiosities  have  recently  been  found  in 
Nevada,  which  are  described  as  almost  perfectly  round,  the  majority  of 
them  as  large  as  a  walnut,  and  of  an  irony  nature.  When  distributed  about 
upon  the  floor,  table,  or  other  level  surface,  within  two  or  three  feet  of  each 
other,  they  immediately  begin  traveling  toward  a  common  center,  and  there 
lie  huddled  up  in  a  bunch  like  a  lot  of  eggs  in  a  nest.  A  single  stone,  re- 
moved to  a  distance  of  three  and  a  half  feet,  upon  being  released,  at  once 
started  off,  with  wonderful  and  somewhat  comical  celerity,  to  join  its  fel- 
lows; taken  away  four  or  five  feet,  it  remained  motionless.  They  are  found 
in  a  region  that  is  comparatively  level,  and  is  nothing  but  bare  rock.  Scat- 
tered over  this  barren  region  are  little  basins  from  a  few  feet  to  a  rod  or 
two  in  diameter,  and  it  is  in  the  bottom  of  those  that  the  rolling  stones  are 
found.  They  are  from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter. 
The  cause  of  these  stones  rolling  together  is,  doubtless,  to  be  found  in  tho 
material  of  which  they  are  composed,  which  appears  to  be  lodestone  or 
magnetic  iron  ore. 

A  Valley  of  Death. — A  valley  surpassing  in  reality  of  horrors  the 
fabled  region  of  the  upas  tree  is  reported  to  have  been  discovered  in  the 
island  of  Java.  This  island  is  volcanic,  and  in  one  spot  the  emanations 
from  the  interior  of  the  earth  are  so  deadly  that  the  place  is  called  the  Val- 
ley of  Death.  As  the  traveler  approaches  it  he  is  attacked  by  nausea  and 
giddiness.  He  also  notices  a  suffocating  smell.  As  he  advances  these 
symptoms  disappear,  so  that,  after  passing  through  the  belt  of  fetid  air 
which  guards  the  valley,  the  visitor  is  able  to  examine  with  less  risk  the 
spectacle  before  him.  A  recent  traveler  describes  the  valley  as  being  an 
oval,  about  one  mile  in  circumference,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  land.  The  floor  of  the  valley  is  flat,  dry,  with- 
out any  vegetation;  and  scattered  all  over  it  are  the  skeletons  of  men, 
tigers,  wild  boars,  birds,  and  stags,  lying  among  large  blocks  of  stone.  No 
steam  or  smoke  is  to  be  seen,  nor  is  any  crevice  apparent  in  the  earth,  which 
appears  to  be  as  hard  as  a  rock.  The  hills  which  hem  in  this  valley  of 
desolation  are  clothed  from  base  to  summit  with  healthy  trees  and  bushes. 
The  traveler  from  whom  we  have  already  quoted  descended  the  side  of  one 
bill,  with  the  aid  of  a  bamboo  stick,  to  about  eighteen  feet  from  the  bottom, 
and  he  compelled  a  dog  to  go  down  to  the  plain.  In  five  seconds  the  ani- 
mal fell  on  its  side  motionless,  although  it  continued  to  breathe  for  eighteen 
minutes.  Another  dog  died  in  ten  minutes;  and  a  fowl  only  resisted  the 
deadly  air  for  a  minute  and  a  half,  and  was  dead  before  he  reached  the  bot- 
tom. It  is  believed  that  the  human  skeletons  are  those  of  malefactors  who 
have  sought  refuge  here,  ignorant  of  the  fatal  influence  of  the  air  they  came 
to  breathe.  The  neighboring  mountains  are  volcanic,  but  they  neither  emit 
eulphurous  odors,  nor  do  they  present  any  indications  of  recent  eruption. 

A  Wonderful  Cave.— Kent's  cavern,  in  the  vicinity  of  Torquay,  in 
Devonshire,  England,  is  a  remarkable  cave,  consisting  of  a  great  excavation 
in  the  Devonian  limestone.  It  is  entered  by  a  narrow  passage  some  seven 
feet  wide  and  only  five  feet  in  height.  The  central  cavern,  which  is  almost 
600  feet  long,  has  a  number  of  smaller  caverns  or  corridors  leading  out 
from  it,  Its  farthest  extremity  is  terminated  by  a  deep  pool  of  water.  IB 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  529 

the  bod  of  this  cavern  modern  research  has  been  rewarded  by  some  deeply 
interesting  discoveries.  Over  the  original  earth  bottom  of  the  cave  is  a  bed 
or  layer  of  considerable  thickness,  in  which  are  contained  strange  mixtures 
of  human  bones,  with  tho  bones  of  the  elephant  and  the  rhinoceros,  the 
hyena,  the  bear,  and  the  wolf,  intermingled  with  stone  and  flint  tools,  arrow 
and  spear  heads,  and  fragments  of  coarse  pottery.  The  animal  remains 
testify  to  the  presence  in  the  ancient  forests  of  Britain  of  beasts  of  prey 
which  long  since  have  become  extinct.  Speculation  may  be  exhausted  in 
the  endeavor  to  account  for  the  curious  intermingling  in  this  cavern  of  the 
remains  of  human  beings  and  of  wild  animals.  The  place  may  have  been 
used  for  shelter  successively  by  man  and  by  the  lords  of  the  forest;  or,  aa 
the  presence  of  the  rude  weapons  of  man  might  seem  to  indicate,  the  beasts 
of  the  field  may  have  been  brought  into  this  natural  recess  as  trophies  of 
the  chase,  and  their  flesh  and  skins  used  for  purposes  of  food  and  clothing. 
Nothing  less  than  the  most  persevering  and  enthusiastic  search  could  have 
discovered  the  interesting  remains  which,  for  a  vast  period  of  time,  had 
been  buried  in  this  retreat,  for  the  fossils  were  covered  by  a  thick  floor  of 
stalagmite  which  had  been  formed  by  great  blocks  of  limestone,  which  had 
fallen  from  time  to  time  from  the  roof  of  the  cavern,  and  had  become  ce- 
mented into  one  mass  by  the  perpetual  percolations  of  limewater  from 
above. 

The  Richest  Women  in  New  York.— It  seems  that  the  richest 
women  in  New  York  are  Mrs.  John  Jacob  Astor,  who  has  a  fortune  of 
$8,000,000;  Mrs.  William  Astor,  worth  $6,000,000;  Mrs.  Josephine  Ayer, 
worth  $4,000,000;  Mrs.  Isaac  Bell,  Jr.,  worth  $2,000,000;  Miss  Linda  Blatch- 
ford,  worth  $2,000,000;  Mrs.  James  Brown,  worth  $4,000,000;  Mrs.  Franklin 
Delano,  $2,500,000;  Mrs.  William  E.  Dodge,  Sr.,  $4,000,000;  Mrs.  Colemar 
Dray  ton,  who  has  an  income  of  $100,000  a  year;  Mrs.  Robert  Goelet,  $  3,000,- 
000;  Miss  Sarah  Hitchcock,  $12,000,000;  Mrs.  Mason-Jones,  $6,000,000;  Mr*. 
Bradley  Martin  has  $1,000  a  day;  Mrs.  John  Minturn,  $2,000,000;  Mia. 
Charles  Morgan,  $3,000,000;  Mrs.  E.  W.  Morgan  has  a  life  income  from 
several  millions;  Mrs.  Marshall  0.  Roberts,  $10,000,000;  Mrs.  Archibald 
Rogers,  $3,000,000;  Mrs.  Edwin  H.  Stevens,  $20,000,000;  Mrs.  Paran  Stevens, 
$6,000,000;  Mrs.  A.  T.  Stewart,  $30,000,000;  Mrs.  Moses  Taylor,  who  has  a 
life  interest  in  an  immense  fortune;  Mrs.  Catherine  Wolfe  has  an  annual  in- 
come of  nearly  $500,000;  Mrs.  Abram  S.  Hewitt  is  worth  $2,000,000;  Mrs. 
Jesse  Hoyt,  $6,000,000;  Mrs.  George  Merritt,  $2,000,000;  Mrs.  Frederick 
Neilson  has  $80,000  a  year;  Mrs.  George  Osgood,  $2,500,000;  Mrs.  Percy  R. 
Pyne  has  an  income  of  $535,000  a  year;  Mrs.  Henry  Remsen  has  a  fortune  of 
$3,000,000;  Mrs.  C.  Vanderbilt,  $1,500,000,  and  Miss  George  Quintard, 
$6,000,000.  These  are  lucky  women,  although  there  are  many  more  whose 
incomes  range  from  $30,000  to  $75,000  a  year. 

The  Discovery  of  Silk  and  Satin — The  discovery  of  silk  is 
attributed  to  one  of  the  wives  of  the  emperor  of  China,  Hoang-ti,  who  reigned 
about  two  thousand  years  before  the  Christian  era;  and  since  that  time  a 
special  spot  has  been  allotted  in  gardens  of  the  Chinese  royal  palace  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  mulberry  tree  and  to  the  keeping  of  silk-worms.  Per- 
sian monks  who  came  to  Constantinople  revealed  to  the  Emperor  Justinian 
the  secret  of  the  production  of  silk,  and  gave  him  some  silk-worms. 
From  Greece  the  art  passed  into  Italy  at  the  e»d  of  the  thirteenth  century. 
When  the  popes  left  Rome  to  settle  at  Avignon,  France,  they  introduced 


630       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

into  that  country  the  secret  which  had  been  kept  by  the  Italians,  and  LonU 
XI  established  at  Tours  a  manufactory  of  silk  fabrics.  Francis  I  founded 
the  Lyons  silfc  works,  which  to  this  day  have  kept  the  first  rank.  Henry  II  of 
Prance  wore  at  the  wedding  of  his  sister  the  first  pair  of  silk  hose  ever  made. 
The  word  "  satin,"  which  in  the  original  was  applied  to  all  silk  stuffs  in 
general,  has  since  the  last  century  been  used  to  designate  only  tissues 
which  present  a  lust-red  surface.  The  discovery  of  this  particular  brilliant 
stuff  was  accidental.  Octavio  Mai,  a  silk  weaver,  finding  business  very 
dull,  and  not  knowing  what  to  invent  to  give  a  new  impulse  to  the  trade, 
was  one  day  pacing  to  aud  fro  before  his  loom.  Every  time  he  passed  the 
machine,  with  no  definite  object  in  view,  he  pulled  little  threads  from  the 
warp  and  put  them  to  his  mouth,  which  soon  after  he  spat  out.  Later  oa 
he  found  the  little  ball  of  silk  on  the  floor  of  his  workship,  and  attracted  by 
the  brilliant  appearance  of  the.threads,  he  repeated  the  experiment,  and  by 
using  certain  mucilaginous  preparations,  succeeded  in  giving  satin  to  the 
world. 

Ancient  Babylon. — Between  2,000  and  500  B.  c.,  Babylonia  was  the 
garden  of  the  ancient  world.  The  land,  surrounded  like  an  island  by  two 
of  the  finest  streams  in  the  world,  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris — the  rivers  of 
Paradise— is  truly  the  gift  of  both.  They  flowed  with  swift  current  from  the 
Armenian  highlands  into  the  sea  now  known  as  the  Persian  Gulf.  In  the 
course  of  centuries  large  masses  of  loam  were  rolled  down  and  heaped  at 
their  original  mouths,  and  this  is  what  we  now  call  Babylonia.  It  was  on 
this  soaked,  fat  and  fertile  soil  that  the  oldest  authentic  civilization,  not  of 
Asia  merely,  but  of  the  world,  developed  itself.  The  melting  of  the  Arme- 
nian snows  caused  inundations  which  had  to  be  checked  by  damming  the 
rivers  with  dykes  and  walls.  Canals  served  for  navigation,  and  also  led  off 
the  superfluous  waters  to  parts  unaffected  by  the  overflow,  and  developed 
to  such  a  degree  their  fertility  that  wheat  and  barley  often  gave  the  laborer 
two  or  three  hundred  fold.  Near  Bagdad  the  two  rivers  are  so  near  that 
only  six  hours  are  required  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  On  this  tongue 
of  land,  which  was  once  a  fourth  narrower,  the  great  canal  system  com- 
menced, and  by  means  of  still  smaller  arteries,  the  life-giving  waters  were 
distributed  to  nearly  every  tree.  The  district  between  Bagdad  and  Hilla 
(a  three-days'  ride),  was  formerly  strewed  with  heaps  of  towns  and  villages. 
To  its  south,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  land,  lay  Babylon,  "  the  gate  of  God." 
Its  commercial  importance  is  described,  its  fortifications,  the  Euphrates 
(half  a  mile  wide),  swarming  with  ships  of  every  size,  the  large  Euphrates 
bridge,  built  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  different  quarters  and  great  build- 
ings, the  royal  bank,  where  important  business,  public  and  private  was 
transacted. 

Why  a  Man  Cannot  Ply — No  combination  of  wings  will  enable  a 
man  to  fly  until  he  can  wield  them  with  as  much  muscular  power  to  the 
pound  of  weight  as  a  bird  exerts  in  flying.  If  a  man  had  in  his  legs  the 
muscular  energy  and  leverage  of  a  flea,  he  could  jump  a  mile  in  three 
leaps,  and  if  his  arms  had  in  proportion  to  his  weight  the  driving  power  cf 
a  wild  pigeon's  wing,  he  would  have  no  use  for  railways  or  balloons.  The 
transportation  problem  would  be  solved.  Moving  himself  so  easily  and  so 
swiftly,  he  would  not  need  to  move  anything  else.  The  albatross,  weighing 
twenty-eight  pounds,  can  keep  its  wings,  thirteen  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  in 
motion  all  day,  while  the  strongest  man,  weighing  eix  or  eight  timei  88 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  531 

much,  would  exhaust  all  his  strength  in  keeping  even  an  albatross's  wings 
in  motion  half  an  hour.  "  We  have  in  the  bird,"  says  the  Engineer,  "  a  ma- 
chine burning  concentrated  fuel  in  a  largo  grate  at  a  tremendous  rate,  and 
developing  a  very  large  power  in  a  small  space.  There  is  no  engine  in  ex- 
istence, certainly  no  steam  engine  and  boiler  combined  which,  weight  for 
weight,  gives  out  anything  like  the  mechanical  power  exhibited  by  the 
albatross.  Consequently,  no  machinery  yet  devised  can  operate  wings  with 
sufficient  power  to  sustain  its  own  weight  in  the  air,  and  there  is  no  known 
machinery  by  which  a  man  can  wield  the  force  necessary  to  fly  like  a  bird. 
Keely's  alleged  discovery,  or  some  new  process  of  storing  and  exerting 
great  electric  power  in  apparatus  of  light  weight,  might  supply  the  de- 
ficiency, but  science  has  not  learned  how  to  develop  in  inanimate  machinery 
anything  like  the  mighty  nervous  energy  which  acts  in  the  bones,  sinews, 
and  muscles  of  a  living  bird's  wing." 

A  River  of  Hot  Water.— The  great  Sutro  Tunnel,  cut  to  relieve  the 
celebrated  Comstock  mines  at  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  of  the  vast  quantities 
of  hot  water  which  are  encountered  in  them,  affords  an  outlet  to  twelve 
million  tuns  every  twenty-four  hours,  or  about  three  billion  gallons.  Some 
of  the  water,  as  it  finds  its  way  into  the  mines,  has  a  temperature  oi 
195°,  while  four  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  the  temperature  ranges 
from  130°  to  135°.  To  obviate  the  inconvenience  which  would  arise  from 
the  vapor  such  a  vast  quantity  of  water  would  give  off,  the  flow  is  conducted 
through  the  entire  tunnel,  four  miles,  in  a  light  flume  of  pine.  At  the  point 
of  exit  the  water  has  lost  but  seven  degrees  of  heat.  Sixty  feet  below  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel  the  hot  water  is  utilized  for  turning  machinery  belong* 
ing  to  the  company,  from  whence  it  is  carried  off  by  a  tunnel  eleven  hun- 
dred feet  in  length,  which  serves  as  a  waterway.  Leaving  the  wastewa^ 
tunnel,  the  water  flows  to  the  Carson  River,  a  mile  and  a  half  distant.  This 
hot  water  is  being  utilized  for  many  purposes.  The  boys  have  arranged 
several  pools  where  they  indulge  in  hot  baths.  The  miners  and  others  use 
it  for  laundry  purposes,  and  arrangements  are  being  made  whereby  a 
thousand  acres  belonging  to  the  company  are  being  irrigated,  It  is  pro- 
posed to  conduct  the  hot  water  through  iron  pipes,  beneath  the  surface  oi 
the  soil,  near  the  roots  of  thousands  of  fruit  trees  which  are  to  be  planted, 
and  in  a  similar  manner  give  the  necessary  warmth  to  a  number  of  hot- 
houses to  be  used  for  the  propagation  of  early  fruits  and  vegetables. 

Australian  Vastness.— It  is  not  easy  to  grasp  the  enormous  bulk  oi 
the  Australian  continent— the  practically  unlimited  space  within  which  the 
colonies  have  room  to  grow.  The  colony  of  Victoria — the  smallest  and  at 
the  same  time  the  most  populous  and  highly  developed  of  the  continental 
group — is  about  as  large  as  Great  Britain.  New  South  Wales  has  an  area 
five  times  that  of  England,  but  is  not  half  so  big  as  Queensland  and  only  a 
third  of  the  size  of  South  Australia.  Western  Australia  is  even  larger  and 
more  empty  of  population;  after  measuring  acres  with  South  Australia  it 
would  have  almost  sufficient  land  to  furnish  out  New  Zealand  and  Tasmania, 
and  yet  New  Zealand  compares  in  area  with  the  British  Islands,  and 
Tasmania  is  nearly  as  large  as  Scotland.  The  acreage  under  crop  in  the 
Australian  colonies  in  1880  was  6,500,000  acres.  That  seems  a  respectable 
total;  yet  it  seems  ridiculously  small  when  we  compare  with  it  the  illimitable 
extent  of  land  yet  lying  waste.  To  take  the  case  of  New  South  Wales, 
while  there  are  635,900  acres  in  cultivation  and  17,500,000  acres  inclosed 


532       CYCLOPAEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

there  are  180,000,000  acres,  much  of  it  excellent  land,  still  unalienated. 
Even  at  the  present  rapid  rate  at  which  the  land  is  being  fenced,  it  will 
occupy  180  years  to  dispose  of  it  all.  This  colony  alone  contained  the  ex- 
traordinary number  of  32,400,000  sheep  in  1880,  besides  2,580,000  cattle  and 
nearly  400,000  horses.  Before  the  close  of  the  next  decade  it  is  expected 
that  the  sheep  stock  of  New  South  Wales  will  run  to  between  40,000,000 
and  50,000,000  head. 

Iowa's  Great  Wonder. — The  greatest  wonder  in  the  State  of  Iowa, 
and  perhaps  any  other  State,  is  what  is  called  the  "  Walled  Lake,"  in 
Wright  County,  twelve  miles  north  of  the  Dubuque  and  Pacific  Eailway,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of  Dubuque  City.  The  lake  is  from  two 
to  three  feet  higher  than  the  earth's  surface.  In  some  places  the  wall  is 
ten  feet  high,  fifteen  feet  wide  at;  the  bottom,  and  five  wide  on  top.  Another 
fact  is  the  size  of  the  stones  used  in  construction,  the  whole  of  them  vary- 
ing in  weight  from  three  tons  down  to  a  hundred  pounds.  There  is  an 
abundance  of  stones  in  Wright  County,  but  surrounding  the  lake  to  the  ex- 
tent of  five  or  ten  miles  there  are  none.  No  one  can  form  an  idea  as  to  the 
means  employed  to  bring  them  to  the  spot,  or  who  constructed  it.  Around 
the  entire  lake  is  a  belt  of  woodland  half  a  mile  in  width,  composed  of  oak. 
With  this  exception  the  country  is  a  rolling  prairie.  The  trees  must  have 
been  planted  there  at  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  wall.  In  the  spring  of 
the  year  1856  there  was  a  great  storm  and  the  ice  on  the  lake  broke  the  wall 
in  several  places,  and  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity  were  obliged  to  repair  the 
damages  to  prevent  inundation.  The  lake  occupies  a  grand  surface  of 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  acres;  depths  of  water  as  great  as  twenty-five 
feet.  The  water  is  clear  and  cold,  soil  sandy  and  loamy.  It  is  singular  that 
no  one  has  been  able  to  ascertain  where  the  water  comes  from  nor  where  it 
goes,  yet  it  is  always  clear  and  fresh. 

Invention  of  Balloons. — The  admirers  of  crinoline  will  be  proud  to 
learn  that  the  invention  of  balloons  is  owing  to  a  similar  contrivance.  The 
French  give  a  curious  anecdote  of  a  simple  occurrence  which  led  the  in- 
ventor of  such  machines — Montgolfier — to  turn  his  attention  to  the  subject. 
It  is  to  this  effect:  A  washerwoman  of  the  Eue  aux  Juifs,  in  the  Marais, 
placed  a  petticoat  on  a  basket-work  frame,  over  a  stove,  to  dry.  In  order 
to  concentrate  all  the  heat,  and  to  prevent  its  escaping  by  the  aperture  at 
the  top,  she  drew  the  strings  closely  together  which  are  used  to  tie  it  round 
the  waist.  By  degrees  the  stuff  dried,  became  lighter,  and  the  stove  con- 
tinuing to  heat  and  rarefy  the  air  concentrated  under  the  framework,  the 
petticoat  began  to  move,  and  at  last  rose  hi  the  air.  The  washerwoman 
was  so  astonished  that  she  ran  out  to  call  her  neighbors;  and  they,  seeing 
it  suspended  in  the  air,  were  amazed.  One  individual,  however,  a  simple 
paper  maker  from  Annonay,  named  Montgolfier,  as  much  astonished  but 
more  sensible  than  the  others,  returned  home,  and  without  loss  of  time 
studied  the  work  of  Priestly  on  different  kinds  of  atmosphere.  The  result 
was  the  discovery  of  the  first  balloon,  called  Montgolfier's,  of  which  he  was 
the  inventor.  As  the  Nautilus  probably  gave  the  idea  of  a  sailing  vessel,  80 
also  do  very  simple  causes  often  produce  great  and  unexpected  results. 

A  Wonderful  Clock. — A  new  perpetual  clock  was  put  up  recently  at 
the  Gare  du  Nord,  Brussels,  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  fully  exposed  to  the 
influences  of  the  wind  and  weather,  and  though  it  has  not  since  been 
touched,  it  has  continued  to  keep  good  time.  The  weight  is  constantly 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.  533 

wound  up  by  a  fan  placed  in  the  chimney.  As  soon  as  it  approaches  the 
extreme  height  of  its  course,  it  actuates  a  brake,  which  stops  the  fan;  and 
the  greater  the  tendency  of  the  fan  to  revolve,  so  much  the  more  strongly 
does  the  brake  act  to  prevent  it.  A  simple  pawl  arrangement  prevents  a 
down  draft  from  exerting  any  effect.  There  is  no  necessity  for  a  fire,  as 
the  natural  draft  of  the  chimney  or  pipe  is  sufficient;  and  if  the  clock  is 
placed  out-of-doors  all  that  is  required  is  to  place  it  above  a  pipe  sixteen  or 
twenty  feet  high.  The  clock  is  made  to  run  twenty-four  hours  after  being 
wound  up,  so  as  to  provide  for  any  temporary  stoppage,  but,  by  the  addi- 
tion of  a  wheel  or  two,  it  may  be  made  to  go  for  eight  days  after  cessation 
of  winding.  The  inventor,  a  native  of  Belgium,  showed  his  original  model 
at  the  Paris  Exhibition  in  1878,  but  he  has  since  considerably  improved 
upon  it. 

The  Gulf  Stream. — There  is  a  river  hi  the  ocean.  In  the  severest 
droughts  it  never  fails,  and  in  the  mightiest  flood  it  never  overflows.  Its 
banks  and  the  bottom  are  of  cold  water,  while  its  current  is  of  warm.  The 
Gulf  of  Mexico  is  its  fountain,  and  its  mouth  is  in  the  Arctic  Seas.  It  is  the 
Gulf  Stream.  There  is  in  the  world  no  other  so  majestic  a  flow  of  water. 
Its  current  is  more  swift  than  the  Mississippi  or  the  Amazon,  and  its  vol- 
ume more  than  a  thousand  times  greater.  Its  waters,  as  far  as  the  Caro- 
lina coasts,  are  of  indigo  blue.  These  are  so  distinctly  marked  that  the 
common  sea  water  can  be  traced  with  the  eye.  Often  one-half  the  vessel 
may  be  perceived  floating  in  the  Gulf  Stream  water,  while  the  other  half  is 
in  the  common  water  of  the  sea,  so  sharp  is  the  line  and  the  want  of  affinity 
between  these  waters;  and  such,  too,  the  reluctance,  eo  to  speak,  on  the 
part  of  those  of  the  Gulf  Stream  to  mingle  with  the  common  waters  of  the 
sea.  In  addition  to  this,  there  is  another  peculiar  fact.  The  fisherman  on 
the  coast  of  Norway  are  supplied  with  wood  from  the  tropics  by  the  Gulf 
Stream.  Think  of  the  Arctic  fishermen  burning  upon  their  hearths  the 
palms  of  Hayti,  the  mahogany  of  Honduras,  and  the  precious  woods  of  the 
Amazon  and  the  Orinoco  1 

Ancestry  of  the  Pen.— The  earliest  mode  of  writing  was  on  bricks, 
tiles,  oyster-shells,  stone,  ivory,  bark,  and  leaves  of  trees,  and  Irom  the 
latter  the  term  "  leaves  of  a  book  "  is  probably  derived.  Copper  and  brass 
plates  were  very  early  in  use;  and  a  bill  of  feoffment  on  copper  was  some 
years  since  discovered  in  India,  bearing  date  one  hundred  years  before 
Christ.  Leather  was  also  used,  as  well  as  wooden  tablets.  Then  the  papy- 
rus came  into  vogue,  and  about  the  eighth  century  the  papyrus  was  super- 
seded by  parchment.  Paper,  however,  is  of  great  antiquity,  especially 
among  the  Chinese;  but  the  first  paper-mill  in  England  was  built  in  1588  by 
a  German,  at  Dartford,  in  Kent.  Nevertheless,  it  was  nearly  a  century  and 
a  half— namely,  in  1713— before  Thomas  Watkins,  a  stationer,  brought  paper 
making  to  anything  like  perfection.  The  first  approach  to  a  pen  was  the 
stylus,  a  kind  of  iron  bodkin;  but  the  Romans  forbade  its  use  on  account  of 
its  frequent  and  even  fatal  use  in  quarrels,  and  then  it  was  made  of  bone. 
Subsequently,  reeds,  pointed  and  split,  like  pens  as  in  the  present  day, 
were  used. 

Limit  of  Perpetual  Snow,  and  Growth  of  Trees.— On  the 

Andes,  in  lat.  2  deg.,  the  limit  of  perpetual  snow  is  14,760  ft.  In  Mexico, 
lat.  19  deg.,  the  limit  is  13,800  ft.;  on  the  peak  of  Teneriffe,  11,454  ft.;  on 
Mount  Etna,  9,000  ft.;  on  Caucasus,  9,900  ft.;  on  the  Pyrenees,  8,400  ft.;  in 


534      UYULOPjEUlA    Of    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

Lapland,  3,100  ft.;  in  Iceland,  2,890  ft.  The  walnut  ceases  to  grow  at  an 
elevation  of  3,600  ft.;  the  yellow  pine  at  6,200  ft.;  the  ash  at  4,800  ft.;  aufl 
the  fir  at  6,700  ft.  The  loftiest  inhabited  spot  on  the  globe  is  the  Port 
House  of  Ancomarca,  on  the  Andes,  in  Peru,  16,000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  The  14th  peak  of  the  Himalayas,  in  Asia,  28,178  feet  high,  is  the 
loftiest  mountain  in  the  world. 

How  an  Insect  Breath.es.— If  we  take  any  moderately  large  insect, 
say  a  wasp  or  a  hornet,  we  can  see,  even  with  the  naked  eye,  that  a  series 
of  small,  spot-like  marks  run  along  either  side  of  the  body.  These  appar- 
ent spots,  which  are  generally  eighteen  or  twenty  in  number,  are,  in  fact, 
the  apertures  through  which  air  is  admitted  into  the  system,  and  are  gener- 
ally formed  in  such  a  manner  that  no  extraneous  matter  can  by  any  possi- 
bility find  entrance.  Sometimes  they  are  furnished  with  a  pair  of  horny 
Ups,  which  can  be  opened  and  closed  at  the  will  of  the  insect;  in  other  cases 
they  are  densely  fringed  with  stiff  interlacing  bristles,  forming  a  filter, 
which  allows  air,  and  air  alone,  to  pass.  But  the  apparatus,  of  whatever 
character  it  may  be,  is  always  so  wonderfully  perfect  in  its  action  that  it 
has  been  found  impossible  to  inject  the  body  of  a  dead  insect  with  even  so 
subtile  a  medium  as  spirits  of  wine,  although  the  subject  was  first  immersed 
in  the  fluid  and  then  placed  beneath  the  receiver  of  an  air  pump. 

Alaska's  Resources — The  resources  of  Alaska  are  abundant  in 
quantity  and  magnificent  in  quality.  They  are  divided  between  the  sea  and 
the  land.  The  fisheries  are  described  as  being  among  the  finest  in  the 
world.  As  many  as  7,000  salmon  are  often  taken  at  a  single  haul  of  the 
eeine,  some  of  them  weighing  from  forty-five  to  100  pounds  each.  Those 
«aptured  at  Crook's  Inlet  average  even  heavier,  and  distance  all  competition 
in  Oregon  or  elsewhere.  In  the  mining  region  near  Sitka,  ten  well  devel- 
oped ledges  of  gold-bearing  quartz  have  been  uncovered,  and  eight  mines 
are  already  located  and  will  soon  be  in  active  operation.  These  ledges, 
which  have  been  followed  three  miles  or  more,  are  pronounced,  by  a  com- 
petent Bussian  engineer,  capable  of  averaging  $32  per  ton.  Experienced 
miners  who  have  examined  them  think  the  Alaska  yield  of  gold  and  silver 
will  eventually  be  larger  than  that  of  California  and  Nevada  combined. 

American  Inventive  Genius — The  inventions  of  man  have  had  an 
immense  influence  in  aiding  the  production  of  manufactured  articles,  and 
it  has  been  estimated  that  two-thirds  of  the  aggregate  wealth  of  the  United 
States  is  due  to  patented  inventions.  The  patents  granted  by  the  United 
States  Government  are  nearly  equal  to  those  of  both  the  English  and  the 
French  Governments  combined. 

A  glance  at  one  or  two  of  our  inventions  will  show  us  that  the  estimate 
mentioned  above  is  not  •without  some  foundation.  We  make  in  this  country 
annually  about  1,000,000  sewing  machines,  which  can  do  as  much  work  as 
formerly  required  12,000,000  women  to  do  by  hand.  A  single  shoe  factory 
in  Massachusetts  turns  out  as  many  boots  as  30,000  bootmakers  can  in  the 
city  of  Paris.  It  will  take  the  raw  leather  and  in  twenty  minutes  turn  out  a 
pair  of  shoes  ready  for  the  wearer. 

Fifty  years  ago  all  the  spinning  done  in  this  country  was  done  on  a  com- 
mon household  spinning-wheel.  An  active  woman,  working  ten  hours 
a  day,  could  spin  a  thread  3  8-10  miles  in  length,  and  she  would  walk 
over  five  miles  in  doing  it.  Now,  in  one  of  our  factories,  you  will  see  a  girJ 
of  fifteen  minding  a  machine  which  spins  a  thread  2,100  miles  long  in  a  day. 


STATISTICAL    AND    MISCELLANEOUS.          S35 

Before  tho  cotton  gin  was  invented,  a  man  could  only  clean  four  pounds  of 
cotton  a  day.  Now  he  can  clean  4,000  pounds  a  day  with  the  help  of  the 
gin.  The  cotton  crop  of  1880,  estimated  at  about  4,700,000  bales,  under  the 
old  process  of  cleaning  it,  would  require  505,000,000  days  work,  which  at  $1 
per  day,  would  cost  $505,000,000  for  cleaning  the  cotton.  The  work  is  now 
done  by  1,614  men,  at  a  cost  of  not  over  $500,000. 

In  the  production  of  Bessemer  steel  rails  in  this  country,  the  value  of 
patents  in  aiding  production  is  quite  as  clearly  seen.  In  1868,  the  average 
price  of  steel  rails  was  $158  per  ton.  Now  it  is  but  $34  per  ton.  In  1883  we 
produced  1,295,000  tons  ot  steel  rails.  This  quantity  in  1868  would  have 
coat  nearly  $160,000,000  more  than  it  would  cost  in  1884. 

To  take  a  broader  view  of  the  siibject,  we  find  that  each  operator  in  the 
United  States  turns  out  $1,500  worth  of  goods  per  annum,  while  those  of 
Great  Britain  produce  only  $1,100  each;  those  of  France  about  $1,000;  and 
those  of  Germany  a  little  over  $500.  Averaging  all  Europe,  the  operatives 
of  the  United  States  do  double  the  value  of  work  that  the  operatives  of 
Europe  do.  This  is  tho  result  of  our  inventive  genius  applied  to  our 
improved  machinery. 

Life  Thoughts. — Tour  life  is  what  you  make  it. 

The  best  philosophy — a  contented  mind. 

If  you  would  be  strong,  conquer  yourself. 

Man  should  be  ever  better  than  he  seems. 

He  dines  sumptuously  who  dines  out  of  debt. 

No  man  can  be  free  unless  he  governs  himself. 

Good  company  and  good  conversation  are  the  very  sinews  of  virtue. 

The  worst  and  most  unendurable  of  all  our  ills  are  the  imaginary  ones. 

Study  books  to  know  how  things  ought  to  be;  study  men  to  know  how 
things  are. 

The  sins  of  ignorance  are  most  numerous,  but  the  sins  of  knowledge  are 
most  dangerous. 

Law  is  like  prussic  acid — a  dangerous  remedy,  and  the  smallest  dose  is 
generally  sufficient. 

Our  happiness  does  not  consist  in  being  without  passions,  but  in  having 
control  of  them. 

You  cannot  dream  yourself  into  a  character;  you  must  hammer  and 
forge  yourself  into  one. 

The  perfection  of  wisdom  and  the  end  of  true  philosophy  is  to  proportion 
our  wants  to  our  possessions,  and  our  ambitions  to  our  capacities. 

One  reason  why  the  world  is  not  reformed  is  because  every  man  is  bent 
on  reforming  others,  and  never  thinks  of  reforming  himself. 

The  earth  is  a  great  factory  wheel,  which,  at  every  revolution  on  its 
axis,  receives  fifty  thousand  raw  souls,  and  turns  off  nearly  the  same  num- 
ber worked  up  more  or  less  completely. 

If  we  save  the  moments  of  time  we  will  have  enough  for  every  needful 
work.  Moments  are  the  material  of  which  days  and  years  are  made.  If 
these  be  well  improved,  we  will  have  years  devoted  to  profitable  employ- 
ment. 

A  man  who  can  give  up  dreaming  and  go  to  his  daily  realities,  who  can 
smother  down  his  heart,  its  love  or  woe,  and  tak«  to  the  hard  work  of  hia 
hand,  who  defies  fate,  and,  if  he  must  die,  dies  fighting  to  the  last— that 
man  is  life's  best  hero. 

We  are  ruined,  not  by  what  we  really  w&nt,  but  by  what  we  think  we  do; 


636      CYCLOPEDIA    OF    USEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

therefore  never  go  abroad  in  search  of  your  wants.  If  they  be  real  wanUj 
they  will  come  home  in  search  of  you;  for  he  that  buys  what  he  does  not 
•want  will  soon  want  what  he  cannot  buy. 

The  Number  of  Languages.— The  least  learned  are  aware  that 
there  are  many  languages  in  the  world,  but  the  actual  number  is  probably 
beyond  the  dreams  of  ordinary  people.  The  geographer  Balbi  enumerated 
eight  hundred  and  sixty,  which  are  entitled  to  be  considered  as  distinct 
languages,  and  five  thousand  which  may  be  regarded  as  dialects.  Adul- 
guns,  another  modern  writer  on  this  subject,  reckons  up  three  thousand 
and  sixty-four  languages  and  dialects,  existing,  and  which  have  existed. 
Even  after  we  have  allowed  either  of  these  as  the  number  of  languages,  we 
must  acknowledge  the  existence  of  almost  infinite  minor  diversities;  for 
almost  every  province  has  a  tongue  more  or  less  peculiar,  and  this  we  may 
well  believe  to  be  the  case  throughout  the  world  at  large.  It  is  said  there 
are  little  islands,  lying  close  together  in  the  South  Sea,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  do  not  understand  each  other.  Of  the  eight  hundred  and  sixty  dis- 
tinct languages  enumerated  by  Balbi,  fifty-three  belong  to  Europe,  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  to  Africa,  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  to  Asia, 
four  hundred  and  seventeen  to  America,  one  hundred  and  seventeen  to 
Oceanica — by  which  term  he  distinguishes  the  vast  number  of  islands 
stretching  between  Hiudostan  and  South  America. 

Sounds  During  the  Night — The  great  audibility  of  sounds  dur- 
ing the  night  is  a  phenomenon  of  considerable  interest,  and  one  which  has 
been  observed  even  by  the  ancients.  In  crowded  cities,  or  in  their  vicinity, 
the  effect  was  generally  ascribed  to  the  rest  of  animated  beings,  while  in 
localities  where  such  an  explanation  was  inapplicable,  it  was  supposed  to 
arise  from  a  favorable  direction  of  the  prevailing  wind.  Baron  Humboldt 
was  partially  struck  with  this  phenomenon  when  he  first  heard  the  rushing 
of  the  great  cataract  of  the  Orinoco  in  the  plain  which  surrounds  the  mission 
of  the  Aures.  These  sounds  he  regarded  as  three  times  louder  during  the 
night  than  during  the  day. 

Some  authors  ascribe  this  fact  to  the  cessation  of  the  humming  of  in- 
sects, the  singing  of  birds,  and  the  action  of  the  wind  on  the  leaves  of  the 
trees;  but  Baron  Humboldt  justly  maintains  that  this  cannot  be  the  cause 
of  it  on  the  Orinoco,  where  the  buzz  of  insects  is  much  louder  in  the  night 
than  in  the  day,  and  where  the  breeze  never  rises  till  after  sunset.  Hence 
he  was  led  to  ascribe  the  phenomenon  to  the  perfect  transparency  and  uni- 
form density  of  the  air,  which  can  exist  only  at  night  after  the  heat  of  the 
ground  has  been  uniformly  diffused  through  the  atmosphere.  When  the 
rays  ot  the  sun  have  been  beating  on  the  ground  during  the  day,  currents 
of  hot  air  of  different  temperatures,  and  consequently  of  different  densities, 
are  constantly  ascending  from  the  ground  and  mixing  with  the  cold  air 
above.  The  air  thus  ceases  to  be  a  uniform  medium,  and  objects  seen 
through  it  are  very  indistinctly  visible  with  a  tremulous  motion,  as  if  they 
were  "  dancing  in  the  air."  The  very  same  effect  is  perceived  when  we 
look  at  objects  through  spirits  and  water  that  are  not  perfectly  mixed,  or 
when  we  view  distant  objects  over  a  red-hot  poker,  or  over  a  flame.  In  all 
these  cases  the  light  suffers  refraction  in  passing  from  a  medium  of  one  den- 
sity into  a  medium  of  different  density,  and  the  reflected  rays  are  constantly 
changing  their  direction,  as  the  different  currents  rise  in  succession.  Analo- 
gous effects  are  produced  when  sound  passes  through  a  mixed  medium. 


STATISTICAL    AN!)    MISCELLANEOUS.          637 

Inelegant  Language. — Few  people  realize  how  many  words  are 
need  improperly  in  the  course  of  ordinary  conversation.  Take,  for  exam- 
ple, the  word  fix— the  strict  meaning  of  which  is  to  make  fast,  to  settle. 
But  it  is  improperly  used  in  many  other  ways,  as  "  I  fixed  my  hair,  I  fixed 
the  wagon,  I  fixed  my  gloves,  I  fixed  the  room,"  etc.;  instead  of  "I 
brushed  my  hair,  I  repaired  the  wagon,  I  sewed  my  gloves,  I  put  my  room 
in  order,"  etc.  Another  word,  used  still  more  loosely  and  widely,  is  "  nice." 
Thia  properly  means  over-exact,  punctilious,  delicate,  subtle.  But  it  is 
often  employed  to  denote  all  commendable  qualities.  We  often  hear  care- 
less speakers  say,  "  this  apple  is  nice,"  instead  of  delicious;  "  she  is  a  nice 
girl,"  instead  of  good  or  agreeable;  "  a  nice  landscape,"  for  a  lovely  land- 
scape; "  a  nice  cottage,"  instead  of  a  snug  one;  "  a  nice  man,"  instead  of  a 
genial  man;  "a  nice  mountain,"  instead  of  a  grand  or  lofty  one;  "a  nice 
drink  of  water,"  for  a  refreshing  one;  "a  nice  smell"  to  a  flower,  fora 
pleasant  odor;  and  so  on  without  limit.  Then  there  is  the  word  awful, 
meaning  fearful  or  sublime.  Yet,  how  frequently  we  hear  of  an  awful  nice 
day  or  an  awful-looking  dressl  The  word  "  got "  is  another  victim  which  is 
dragged  into  service  on  all  occasions.  "  I  got  up  in  the  morning  and  got 
my  breakfast,  got  to  work  soon  after  and  got  home  by  ten,"  for  example. 
All  these  ineleganciea  are  unpleasant  to  the  refined  ear.  To  correct  them, 
when  they  have  become  a  habit,  repeat  to  yourself  the  correction,  and  con- 
tinue to  repeat  it  till  it  becomes  ready  and  familiar  in  use.  In  this  way 
young  persons  may  acquire  the  habit  of  using  the  best  language,  and  the 
longer  it  is  continued  the  easier  it  will  become. 

The  Origin  of  Postage  Stamps.— The  origin  of  the  postage  stamp 
had  a  tinge  of  romance  in  it.  It  was  thirty-seven  years  ago  that  Rowland 
Hill,  while  crossing  a  district  in  the  north  of  England,  arrived  at  the  door 
of  an  inn  where  a  postman  had  stopped  to  deliver  a  letter.  A  young  girl 
came  out  to  receive  it;  she  turned  it  over  and  over  in  her  hand  and  asked 
the  price  of  postage.  Thia  was  a  large  sum,  and  evidently  the  girl  was 
poor,  for  the  postmaster  demanded  a  shilling.  She  sighed  sadly  and  said 
the  letter  was  from  her  brother,  but  that  she  had  no  money,  and  so  she  re- 
turned the  letter  to  the  postman.  Touched  with  pity,  Mr.  Hill  paid  the 
postage  and  gave  the  letter  to  the  girl,  who  seemed  very  much  embarrassed. 
Scarcely  had  the  postman  turned  his  back,  when  the  young  inn-keeper's 
daughter  confessed  that  it  was  a  trick  between  her  and  her  brother.  Some 
signs  on  the  envelope  told  her  all  she  wanted  to  know,  but  the  letter  con- 
tained no  writing.  "  We  are  both  so  poor,"  she  added,  "  that  we  invented 
this  mode  of  corresponding  without  paying  for  the  letters."  The  traveler, 
continuing  his  road,  asked  himself  if  a  system  giving  rise  to  such  frauds 
was  not  a  vicious  one  ?  Before  sunset  Rowland  had  planned  to  organize  the 
postal  service  upon  a  new  basis — with  what  success  is  known  to  the  world. 

A  Paper-Making  Spider.— In  the  heart  of  the  African  Continent, 
where  no  other  paper  is  manufactured,  the  spid*  paper-maker  does  her 
quiet  work.  Back  and  forth,  over  a  flat  service  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
square,  on  the  inside  wall  of  a  hut,  the  spider  slowly  moves  in  many  lines 
until  the  square  is  covered  with  a  pure  white  paper.  Under  this  she  places 
from  forty  to  fifty  eggs;  and  then,  to  fasten  the  square  of  paper  more  se- 
curely to  the  wall,  she  makes  a  strip  of  paper  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
broad,  and  with  this  glues  the  square  carefully  around  the  edges. 

When  all  is  done,  the  spider — which  is  quite  a  large  one — places  herself 


638       CYCLOPEDIA    OP    VSEFUL    KNOWLEDGE. 

on  the  center  of  the  outside  of  the  little  flat  bag  so  carefully  made,  and  be- 
gins a  watch,  which  is  to  last  for  three  weeks  without  intermission.  Appar- 
ently the  young  spiders  would  have  many  dangers  to  fear,  did  not  their 
anxious  mamma  wage  a  fierce  war  upon  the  cockroaches  and  other  insects 
that  come  near.  After  three  weeks  of  unremitting  watchfulness,  the  mother- 
spider  leaves  her  nest  in  the  day-time  to  hunt  food,  but  she  always  returns 
at  night,  until  her  young  are  strong  enough  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Statistics  of  Longevity.— Dr.  Farr,  an  English  scientist,  says  that 
if  one  could  watch  the  march  of  1,000,000  people  through  life  the  following 
result  would  be  observable:  Nearly  150,000  will  die  the  first  year,  53,000  the 
second  year,  28,000  in  the  third  year,  and  less  than  4,000  in  the  thirteenth 
year.  At  the  end  of  forty-five  years  500,000  will  have  died.  At  the  end  of 
sixty  years  370,000  will  be  still  living;  at  the  end  of  eighty  years,  97,000;  at 
eighty-five  years,  31,000,  and  at  ninety-five  years,  2,100.  At  the  end  of  100 
years  there  will  be  223,  and  at  the  end  of  108  yeara  there  will  be  but  eaa 
survive*. 


INDEX. 


PAGK 

Abysslnians,  the 185 

Adams,  John 21 

Afghan  beauty,  an 196 

Africa,  life  in 165 

Air 428 

Alaska's  resources 534 

Allegheny  River,  the 214 

Alligator,  the 110 

Allspice 317 

Almonds 318 

Alpine  peaks 231 

Alps,  the  herdsmen  of  the 187 

Amber 288 

American  cities,  population  of 477 

American  history,  chronological...    80 
American  States,  cities,  etc.,  popu- 
lar sobriquets  of 488 

Anemones,  sea 381 

Animals,  duration  of  life  of 499 

Animal  wonders 524 

Ant-eater,  the 96 

Ants,  white 143 

Apostles,  the  fate  of 505 

Apricots 313 

Arabs,  the 170 

Arctic  seas,  in 226 

Assignments 456 

Astor,  John  Jacob 25 

Atlantic  Ocean,  depth  of  the 514 

Attar  of  roses 312 

Aurora  Borealis,  the,  or  Northern 

lights 413 

Australian  marriage  customs 201 

Australian  vastness 531 

Authorship,  the  worries  of 527 

Babylon,  ancient 530 

Bagdad  customs 190 

Balloons,  invention  of 532 

Balls,  rubber 282 

Bamboo,  the 334 

Bananas 320 

Bank  checks 448 

Banyan  tree,  the 840 


PXOB 

Barometers,  nature's 511 

Bartholdi  Statue,  the 212 

Bats Ill 

Bayard,  Thomas  F 56 

Bear,  the 88 

Beauty,  female 171 

Beaver,  the 102 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward 36 

Betel-nut  tree,  the 331 

Bills  of  sale 457 

Bird  of  paradise,  the 129 

Bison,  the 90 

Bittern,  the 121 

Blaine,  James  G 56 

Bluejay,  the  American 133 

Bobolink,  the 135 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon 14 

Bonds 442 

Bookbinding 241 

Boots,  rubber 282 

Borneo,  weddings  in 192 

Braddock's  defeat 76 

Brass 280 

Bryant,  William  Cullen 39 

Bulgarian  wake,  a 202 

Burmah,  courting  in 194 

Business  vocabulary 517 

Butterflies 135 

Buttons 291 

Byron,  Lord 17 

Cables,  Atlantic 510 

Calico  printing 252 

California,  the  big  trees  01 328 

Camphor  tree,  the 308 

Cape  Horn  in  the  Sierras 226 

Capitals,  the  use  of 494 

Caribou  or  American  reindeer,  tfie.  101 

Cashmere  women 203 

Castor  oil  plant,  the 308 

Catacombs  of  Rome,  the 227 

Cave,  a  wonderful 528 

Caves,  how  formed 51* 

Celluloid 288 


640 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Chamois,  the 100 

Chewing  gum 291 

China  and  porcelain 258 

China  and  the  Chinese 144 

China,  the  area  and  population  of. .  482 

Cinnamon 316 

Clay,  Henry 27 

Cleveland,  Grover 60 

Clock,  a  wonderful 532 

Clocks  and  watciies,  ancient 525 

Clothes  pins 288 

Cloves 315 

Coal .369 

Cocoa  and  chocolate 295 

Cocoanuts 319 

Coffee 294 

Colugo,  the 112 

Combs 286 

Commerce  of  the  world 496 

"  Conch  "  pearl,  the 391 

Condor,  the 119 

Consideration 455 

Continents,  the  area  and  population 

of 477 

Contracts 454 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore 30 

Cooper,  Peter 47 

Copper 372 

Copper-plate  printing 243 

Coral  fishing 386 

Corals  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  the 385 

Corktree,  the 308 

Cormorant,  the 128 

Cotton 296 

Cotton  gin,  the 355 

Countries  of  the  world,  principal, 

area,  population,  etc.,  of  the —  479 
Countries,  origin  of  the  names  of. .  500 

Country  without  women,  a 177 

Cow  tree,  the 332 

Crackers 283 

Crane,  the 126 

Crested  grebe,  the 126 

Crocodile,  the 108 

Crowns,  European,  the  jewels  in. . .  513 

Cuckoo,  the 123 

Dates 321 

Debts,  recovery  of 450 

Deeds 451 

Deeds,  acknowledgment  and  proof 

Of 453 


Delivery 453 

Dew 435 

Diamonds 368 

Dickens,  Charles 38 

Discoveries,  accidental 359 

Discovery  and  progress,  chronologi- 
cal history  of 485 

Diver,  the 384 

Divorce 466 

Dower 466 

Dreams 522 

Eagle,  the 125 

Earthquakes 440 

Earth,  the 395 

Easement 475 

Edinburgh  Castle 229 

Edmunds,  George  F 61 

Egyptians,  the 183 

Electricity 425 

Electric  light,  the 350 

Elephant,  the 88 

Elk,  the 99 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo 41 

Envelopes 276 

Evarts,  William  M 54 

Everett,  Edward 30 

Executors  and  administrators 460 

Fables,  popular,  origin  of 500 

Falcon,  the 130 

Famous  persons,  dying  words  of. . .  503 
Fawn's  Leap,  Catskill  Mountains..  210 

Ferret,  the 105 

Figs 322 

Fire  and  matches 527 

Fish,  flying 113 

Flax 300 

Fountain  tree,  the 338 

Franconia  Notch,  White  Mountains  208 

Franklin,  Benjamin 19 

Freezing    points,    etc.,   of  various 

substances 523 

Frogs 112 

Fulton,  Robert 25 

GarfieW,  James  A 49 

Gems,  about 512 

Genius,  origin  of 602 

Ginger 314 

Giraffe,  the 93 

Gladstone,  William  E . .  44 

Glass 256 

'  Globe,  the,  statistics  of £05 


INDEX. 


541 


PAGE 

Gold 362 

Gothic     Chapel,    Mammoth    Cave, 

Kentucky 216 

Governments  of  the  world,  leading.  506 

Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado 219 

Grant,  Ulysses  S 49 

Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri  River, 

Montana 220 

Great  works,  insignificant  origin  of  508 

Greeks,  the 191 

Greeley,  Horace 33 

Groaning  tree,  the 339 

Guaranty 449 

Gulf  stream,  the 533 

Gum  Arabic 290 

Gutta  Percha 307 

Hail 438 

Hamilton,  Alexander 23 

Heat 419 

Hedgehog,  the 98 

Hemp    301 

Hendricks,  Thomas  A 61 

Henry,  Patrick 21 

Heron,  the 123 

Highways 473 

Hippopotamus,  the 86 

Holidays,    legal,    throughout    the 

United  States .  523 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell 46 

Humble  bee,  the 137 

Husband  and  wife 465 

Iceland,  life  in 188 

Indian  Ocean,  at  the  bottom  of  the.  393 

India  rubber  tree,  the 306 

India,  the  castes  and  tribes  of 156 

Inquisition,  or  Holy  Office,  the 69 

Insect,  an,  how  breathes 534 

Interest,  how  to  calculate 509 

Interesting  facts 515 

Inventions,  coincidences  in 361 

Inventions,  the  age  of 360 

Inventive  genius,  American 534 

Iowa's  great  wonder 532 

Iron 254 

Irving,  Washington 31 

Isinglass 287 

Islands,  floating 516 

Italy,  how  they  dance  iu 191 

Ivory  plant,  the 329 

Jackson,  Andrew .' 26 

Jaguar,  the 91 


PAGE 

Jak  tree,  the 326 

Japanese,  the 151 

Jeflerson,  Thomas 22 

Kafflrland,  polygamy  in 201 

Katrine,  Loch 228 

Kid  gloves 279 

Kingfisher,  the  belted 134 

Lace 288 

Lakes,  the  great,  measurements  of.  511 

Landlord  and  tenant 469 

Land  of  the  midnight  sun,  the 204 

Language,  incorrect 491 

Language,  Inelegant 637 

Languages,  the  number  of 536 

Lapp  and  his  reindeer,  the  188 

Largest  of  their  kind 510 

Laughing  plant,  the 338 

Lead 378 

Lead  pencils 277 

Leases 471 

Leather 365 

Lemons 324 

Leopard,  the 92 

Libel  and  slander 476 

Liens 446 

Life  thoughts 535 

Light 418 

Limes 325 

Limit    of    perpetual    snow     and 

growth  of  trees 533 

Lincoln,  Abraham 32 

Lion,  the 86 

Lithography 243 

Locomotion  of  animals  and  veloc- 
ity of  bodies 483 

London,  the  city  of,  facts  regarding  512 

Longevity,  statistics  of 538 

Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth 39 

Lowell,  James  Russell 47 

Lyre-bird,  the 117 

Mahogany 342 

Man,  a,  why  cannot  fly 530 

Man,  how  constructed 509 

Maple  sugar 267 

Marbles 287 

Marriage 464 

Matches 286 

Melroae  Abbey 230 

Men  o(  genius,  idiosyncrasies  of 504 

Mexican  life 176 

I  Microphone,  the 354 


542 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Microscope,  the,  marvels  of 511 

Milton,  John 14 

Minors 467 

Mirrors 286 

Moles 106 

Money,  how  accumulates 509 

Monkeys,  baby 107 

Monuments,  towers  and  structures, 

height  of. 484 

Moon,  the 401 

Mortgages 444 

Moscow,  the  burning  of 79 

Moslem  marriages 199 

Mountains,  height  of 482 

Mourning  customs 202 

Mower  and  reaper,  the 358 

Musical  terms,  dictionary  of. 521 

Musk 290 

Nails. 277 

Natural  Bridge,  Virginia 215 

Natural  history,  curious  facts  in  ...  497 

Nautical  vocabulary 518 

Needles 279 

New  York,  distances  from  to  im- 
portant cities 485 

Niagara  Falls 205 

nutmegs 314 

Oceans,  area  of 481 

Ocean,  the  floor  of  the 392 

Olive  tree,  the 324 

Oranges 323 

Ostrich,  the 117 

Palestine,  a  dinner  in 190 

Talestine,  religious  customs  in 169 

Palisades  of  the  Hudson  River,  the.  212 

Paper 248 

Paper  car  wheels,  etc 276 

Paper  money 273 

Paper  nautilus,  the 113 

Paper  tree,  the 342 

Parent  and  child 466 

Paris 232 

Partition 463 

Partnership 472 

Payment  and  tender .  448 

Peabody,  George 29 

Pearl  fishing 388 

Penn,  William 18 

Pen,  the,  ancestry  of 633 

Pepper 317 

Peppermint.-,  311 


PAGE 

Perfumery 265 

Persia,  a  death  in 198 

Persian  dinner,  a 198 

Persian  wedding,  a 197 

Peruvian  forest,  a 337 

Phillips,  Wendell 35 

Photography 244 

Piano  making 262 

Pineapples 320 

Pins 289 

Piute  Indians  of  Nevada,  the 181 

Plague  of  London,  the 77 

Planets,  the 404 

Plants,  origin  of 503 

Porcupine,  the 96 

Postage  stamps 275 

Postage  stamp,  the  origin  of  the . . .  537 

Postal  cards 275 

Power  of  attorney 457 

Presidential  statistics 481 

Presidential  vote  for  sixty  years  —  480 

Presidents,  the,  wealth  of 507 

Printing 237 

Printing  press,  the 347 

Promissory  notes 447 

Pronunciation,  an  exercise  in 495 

Property,  personal 469 

Property,  real 468 

Prunes 322 

Putty 290 

Quicksilver 380 

Quotations,  familiar,  origin  of. 501 

Railroads  in  the  United  States 480 

Rain 435 

Raisins 321 

Rattlesnake,  the  diamond 108 

Receipts 450 

Reign  of  terror  in  Paris,  the 73 

Releases 450 

Rice 313 

Richest  women  in  New  York,  the.. .  529 

River  of  hot  water,  a 531 

Rivers,  principal,  length  of  the 479 

Roseate  spoonbill,  the 124 

Rosewood 343 

Russians,  the,  customs  of 193 

Sacques,  sealskin 285 

Salt 374 

Salt  Lake,  Utah 222 

Salutations 193 

I  Sand  blast,  the 369 


INDEX. 


543 


PAGE 

Sandwich  Inland  houses 195 

Sardines 284 

Screws 289 

Sea  aster,  a,  attached  to  a  crab 391 

Sea  flower,  a  murderous 393 

Sea  horse,  the 114 

Seas,  inland,  area  and  depth  of.  —  481 

Servants 468 

Servia,  marriages  in 200 

Sewing  machines,  the 352 

Shiikespeare,  William 16 

Shawls,  cashmere 285 

Shells  of  the  Indian  Ocean 388 

Sheridan,  Philip  H 59 

Sher-uan,  John 53 

Sherman,  William  T 57 

Shoe  pegs 284 

Shoshone  courtship 181 

Shot 290 

Siam 184 

Siberians,  habits  of 196 

Sicilian  funeral  customs 202 

Sierras,  the  summit  of  the 225 

Silk 249 

Silk  and  satin,  the  discovery  of.  —  529 

Silver 364 

Silver  Cascade,  St.  Anthony's  Falls.  218 

Silver  springs,  Florida 217 

Skylark,  the 133 

Slate  pencils 281 

Snow 437 

Soap 263 

Soap-plant,  the 332 

Soda 287 

Solitaire,  the 121 

Sound 414 

Sounds  during  the  night 536 

South  America 178 

Sovereigns  of  Christendom,  the 506 

Spain,  mountain  traveling  in 189 

Spectacles 261 

Spelling,  simple  rules  for 494 

Spencer,  Herbert 44 

Spider,  a  paper  making 537 

Spiders 140 

Spinning  jenny,  the 355 

Sponges 389 

Spools 289 

Stag,  the 100 

Starch 265 

Star  fish,  a  singular  ................  394 


PAGE 

Star  fish  cactus,  the. 335 

Starling,  the    134 

Stars,  the 408 

States  and  Territories,  population, 

etc.,  of  the 478 

States,  origin  of  the  names  of 499 

St.  Bartholomew,  the  massacre  of. .    64 

Steam  engine,  the -344 

Steel 255 

Steel  pens 278 

Stereotyping 241 

Stinging  tree,  the 342 

St.  Lawrence,  the  rapids  of  the 208 

Stones,  traveling 528 

Stork,  the 125 

Strasburg  and  its  cathedral 233 

Stream,  a  marvelous 526 

Sugar 302 

Sulphur 281 

Sumner,  Charles 37 

Sun  dance  of  the  Sioux,  the 182 

Sun  spots,  Herschel's  theory  of. 401 

Sun,  the 400 

Table,  a  useful 483 

Tacks 280 

Tailor-bird,  the 131 

Talipatpalm  tree,  the &*j 

Tallow  tree,  the 342 

Tapioca  plant,  the 314 

Tartary,  marriage  customs  in 200 

Tea 292 

Telegraph,  the 346 

Telephone,  the 354 

Tennyson,  Alfred 43 

Thimbles 282 

Thrush,  the — 131 

Thurman,  Allen  G 52 

Tides,  the 439 

Tiger,  the 90 

Tilden,  Samuel  J 51 

Timber,  consumption  of 515 

Tin 379 

Titlark,  the 135 

Tobacco 304 

Trenton  Palls,  New  York 211 

Trespass 475 

Trusts  and  trustees 463 

Tunis,  women  in 203 

Turkish  life  and  customs 172 

Turpentine,  resin  and  tar 270 

Turtles,  Brazilian 115 


544 


INDEX. 


FAOB 

Twining  hyacinth  of  California 328 

Type  setting  machine,  the 356 

Type-writer,  the 358 

Tyrolese  custom,  a 204 

United  States,  the,  census  of 481 

Valley  of  death,  a 528 

Vatican,  the 236 

Venice 235 

Vesuvius  in  eruption 234 

Vienna 236 

Vulture,  the 120 

Wall  paper. 268 

Wall  street  phrases,  a  glossary  of. . .  495 

Warranty 449 

Washington,  distances  from,  to  vari- 
ous points 484 

Washington,  George 13 

Wasp,  the 141 

Watch  making 260 

Water 431 

Waterloo,  the  battle  of. 62 

Water  spider,  the 142 

Wattiaa  Glen 2W 


PAGB 

Webster,  Daniel 28 

Wedding  anniversaries 511 

Wedding  race,  a 191 

Weed,  Thurlow 34 

Whalebone 289 

Whale  fishing 526 

Wheatear,  the 132 

Whirlpools 441 

Whirlwinds  and  waterspouts 434 

Whistling  tree,  the 340 

Whittier,  John  G 42 

Wills 458 

Wind 432 

Wine  growing 312 

Wolf,  the 92 

Wonders,  American 507 

Wood  engraving 242 

Works,  remarkable,  of  human  la- 
bor    510 

Yellowstone  Park,  the 221 

Yosemite  Valley,  the 221 

Zebu,  the »6 

Zinc 3»c 


FOR   REFERENCE 


NOT  TO  BE  TAKEN  FROM  THE  ROOM 


CAT.     NO.    23    012 


A    000  809  549    9 


